Our Secret Game
by Tails Is FLUFFY
Summary: After accidentally sleeping with each other, Megumi and Isami decide to continue their newfound relationship behind their friends' backs. Starts in the end of summer of their second year. (Version with Author Notes on AO3 because the layout is cleaner over there.)
1. Game 1

Megumi woke up to a sense of calmness.

She didn't dare move, savoring the peace in her half-asleep mind. It was very early in the morning, after a night of another party in Zenji's room, so it was unusually quiet in the dorm due to everyone still sleeping off the juice. Even Isshiki-senpai would still be a bit sluggish at this time. The blue-haired female knew that stress of the day would fall on her soon enough. A year and a half ago she would be worrying the moment she had opened her eyes. However, she had grown much more confident in herself as time went on, allowing her to have more peaceful moments like this.

However, as she stretched, her calmness disappeared.

Pain shot up her body. It wasn't agonizing pain, more soreness than anything, but it was enough to have her gasp in surprise. The second thing that she noticed was the blanket that was snugly around her was _not_ a blanket at all as it started to move on its own.

"Oh, you're awake?" A sleep laden voice rumbled next to her.

"Eh?" Megumi squeaked in surprised as she scrambled into a sitting position. She hissed again at her soreness. Luckily, the room was just bright enough for her to see who her mystery bedmate was.

Isami was staring back at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked, sitting up as well. "Did I scare you?"

She didn't answer right away. All she could do was to stare at him as her mind struggled to shake the fog of sleepiness and shock. It was late summer, so the younger twin was in his 'slim' mode. Half of her _actual _blankets were gathered low on his hips, showing off his bare chest. What drew her attention were the dark marks that stood out in his chest.

Wait.

Those were _hickeys._

Megumi remembered giving him those hickeys last night. In fact, she finally remembered _everything_ from last night.

"Isami, we slept together…" She mumbled dumbly, unconsciously covering her bare chest with her arms. It was a futile effort, as they had both seen each other already bare, but she couldn't help it.

"I know." Isami's voice was low and cautious. Megumi glanced at him again. He hadn't taken his gaze off her yet. "How are you feeling?"

Megumi knew that she should be panicking. She should be ashamed. She should be embarrassed and stressed that something like this happened when she wasn't married. But, for some reason…

"I feel…strangely calm." She admitted. "And a little sore, to be honest."

"Sore?" Isami bit his bottom lip. Megumi knew that it was a nervous habit of his. "Was I…your first?"

Megumi nodded.

"_Merda_." The twin muttered, looking away. Megumi did not understand the word, but she could tell by the tone of voice that he felt bad at the revelation.

"Isami," She grabbed his arm without hesitation, causing him to gaze at her again. "Don't feel sorry."

"But I…you should have had someone better…" He sighed. "I really like that we were close before this happened and if I ruined it because I let my feelings get the better…"

Megumi, becoming irritated at him berating himself, pulled him towards her.

"Don't feel sorry," She repeated. "because I did the same thing as well."

"Megumi…" She barely had the chance to see the realization come across his face before he kissed her eagerly. "_Non sai quanto mi hai reso felice_."

"Wh-what?" The female giggled at Isami's slip into his native language.

"Ah. Sorry. I said, 'you don't know how happy you've made me'."

"Oh." Megumi smiled. "I'm glad as well." She ran a thumb across one of the bruises she had left on his skin. "I do have to apologize for the hickeys, though."

"Oh, don't worry." A devilish grin appeared on his lips as he wrapped his arms around the blue haired female. "I'll get my revenge right now." With that, he grazed his teeth on one of her pale shoulders. She shuddered, urging Isami to continue marking her skin. She closed her eyes and allowed her hands to roam his back.

"_Tadokoro…" _Isshiki's voice floated through the pipe into her room, making the both of them freeze. She could feel the missing panic from earlier finally appearing as the voice went on.

"_It's a beautiful morning. Let's go outside to the garden and enjoy our youthful summer days!"_

"Y-yeah!" She stuttered out. "Let me get ready!"

"_I'll see you there!" _

"Ah, yes." Isami mumbled, inspecting the fresh mark on her shoulder. "Other people."

"What are we going to tell them?" She paled. "Um…ha…"

"Hey," Isami pulled her to his chest. "Calm down. We don't have to tell anyone about us if you don't want to."

"No?"

"Nope." He kissed the top of her head. "To be honest, I don't want to, either. I want you all to myself for a while. If we tell everyone now, we won't have peace for a long time."

"Let's not even tell them." The suggestion was out of her mouth before she was fully able to comprehend it.

"You mean, fool around as much as we can before our friends can put two and two together?"

"Yeah." Megumi slid out of bed. She could feel Isami's gaze on her for a moment before he did the same.

"You continue to surprise me, Megumi." The Italian chuckled.

"What can I say? I hang around surprising people."


	2. Game 2

Aldini Isami would have to thank Yukihira Soma one day.

If he hadn't challenged his whole class at the entrance ceremony, Takumi would have not held a grudge against the redhead and gone out of his way to challenge him. He would have not met the blue haired girl that had been his partner. She would have not been fascinated by his knife skills, something that rarely happened. It was his brother that usually was the star in cooking, not him. But here was this bluenette giving him her full attention. Unused to the undivided attention, he tried to pass on the attention to his brother. However, he ended up having the urge to be Tadokoro Megumi's friend. It was easy enough to fill that urge, as Takumi had not been satisfied with the results of his first match with Yukihira and continued to seek out the redhead every chance he got. Eventually, Isami gained several friends because of this, but for some reason he viewed Tadokoro in a different light than the rest of their friends. It could have been because quickly found out that they were kindred spirits, both of them having to reel their companions in before too much trouble was made. Of course, they could not always keep their charges on a leash so he and Tadokoru found themselves alone with each other as Yukihira and Takumi ran off.

Those were the times where he truly got to know the girl he was able to call Megumi.

He did not know when they became comfortable enough to tell the other about their fears and worries and thoughts, but it happened. They did not try to cheer each other up when their conversations went blue, no, they had plenty of people to do that for them. They just listened to what the other had to say and gave their own thoughts in response. That seemed to help them when school life became a bit more hectic for them to handle.

Last night was no different. Neither of them had been able to sit down and relax due to the daunting tasks that had been put on as students of the best cooking school in the country. Megumi had a bit more on her plate due to her position, but she was more than capable of handling them. However, it took a toll on her as well. He wasn't surprised to see her leaning against her room door as their other friends were getting rowdy. Isami knew that she needed a bit of peace at that moment. He led her in the room and made her relax on the edge of the bed. He sat down next to her, by now a familiar position they took when it was just the two of them. For a while, Isami listened to Megumi describe her heavy workload and how she had to keep appearances and the Shokugekis that she accepted. There had been a short pause after her recollection, causing him to check to see if she had been alright. She had a slight flush in her cheeks, and the male placed a hand on her cheek to see if she had a fever. She did not feel hot, so he chalked it up to the rice juice that had been served during the party.

"Thank you, Isami." Megumi sighed, looking up at him. "I really missed our talks."

"I would do anything for you, Megumi." He murmured, earning a blush from her. Her gaze remained on him, though, and he could feel the pull of her honey colored eyes.

He had his lips on hers before he could stop himself. He started to pull away, ashamed at what he had done, but to his surprise, Megumi tugged him back.

"Stay." She whispered before kissing him much more fervently than he had done to her.

They never did get back to the party.

* * *

"My, my." Isami chuckled as he prodded his brother's body on the kitchen floor. "What a lovely sight."

"What are you talking about?" Takumi drowsily replied.

"Look around you and see." Isami gave a sly smile and backed up. Takumi yawned and followed his brother's advice. The blond screamed, completely awake now as he pushed what had been a slumbering Yukihira off him. Isami cackled as his brother stumbled to his feet quite a distance away from his original position and left Yukihira dazed on the ground.

"Shut up, Isami!" Takumi was turning red, and the sight of the two made him laugh even harder.

"Oh. You woke them up." A voice came from the entrance of the kitchen. Seemed like the rest of the Polar Star residents plus Nikumi had come to see what the commotion was. It had been Yoshino who had spoken up, her pout showing exactly how she felt.

"They both fell asleep right after a small cooking contest." Sakaki supplied.

"You mean you guys just left us here?" Takumi was scarlet now, more from embarrassment that almost everyone in the dorm had seen him and his supposed rival in such a position. Yukihira, on the other hand, was already up and making tea.

"Yup!" Yoshino stuck her tongue out in jest. "You guys looked so cute that we didn't have the heart to move you."

"Sorry," Isami ignored his brother's growl. "I woke him up so we could go home and change. I would have left them longer if I did not feel like we overstayed our welcome."

"You guys are welcome to stay as long as you like." Fumio came in the room then. "The three of you are here more often than not, anyways." She added, including the tan female currently standing by the stove with Yukihira. When she realized she was being talked about, Nikumi fidgeted.

"Thank you, Fumio-san." She uttered.

"Did I miss something?" Megumi peeked in. "I heard screaming."

"Just Takumi and Soma snuggling on the kitchen floor." Sakaki pointed out, earning another groan from the blond twin.

"Oh." Megumi faintly blushed and tugged at her yellow short sleeve shirt in a particular area. Isami smirked and quickly shifted his gaze to his brother. No one else needed to know how the younger twin slept last night as well.

"You look much better than you did last night, Megumi!" Yoshino chirped. "You must have had a good night."

"Yeah, exhaustion finally hit me after the past few days. Sorry that I went to bed early."

"That's okay, Megumi." The orange- haired female patted her shoulder. Her marked shoulder, Isami noticed. The blue haired girl knew as well as she stiffened. "You okay, Megumi?"

"Y-yeah." She smiled. "I fell asleep in a weird angle so I'm a little sore." Isami could not help being proud of how easily the lie slipped out from her lips. She made a show of looking around the kitchen. "I guess Isshiki-senpai left already. He was calling me to help him in the garden."

"He was heading outside when I was coming in here." Fumio confirmed.

"Okay, I'll go and join him! See you guys later!" She said her goodbye, her gaze lingering on him a second longer before she left. Isami glanced at his brother again, who had his head in his arms. Then he looked at Soma who was helping Fumio with breakfast along with a couple of the other residents of Polar Star. The red head was idly rubbing his side. Feeling a bit mischievous, Isami called out to him.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you Takumi moves a lot in his sleep. You may have bruises because of him." Laughs filled the room at his statement.

"Yeah. I found that out the hard way." Soma replied, causing the teens to laugh even harder.

"Time to go home, Isami!" Takumi pulled on his brother's sleeve as playful taunts were aimed towards him. The younger twin thanked his friends for hosting them as he was dragged out of the dorm. As they biked their way home, Takumi got over his embarrassment long enough to remember something.

"Where did _you_ disappear off to last night, younger brother?"

"Me? I saw you about to face off again with Yukihira and I decided to not watch your flirting attempts and borrowed one of the bedrooms for an early night."

"Humph. I was not flirting with him." Takumi muttered. Isami hummed. He had told his brother the truth.

There was no need to tell him any details.


	3. Game 3

For Megumi, the rest of the break felt a bit weird.

One reason was because she had not seen Isami since the morning they had woken up in bed together. Takumi had whisked him off on a conference he had planned on going on two days after the party and since the event spanned a few days in a different city, the twins had made plans to spend the nights over there. She would be lying if she did not feel a pang of disappointment knowing that she would not be spending the precious free days she had with him.

As she wasn't alone in the strange sense of loneliness. Her enhanced perception told her that Soma was missing the elder twin. Practically every conversation she had with the redhead contained a mention of Takumi. Megumi had called him out on that fact a couple times, but unlike Takumi, Soma would fall silent and become hyper focused on whatever he was doing at the time. Megumi usually did not press him any farther when he did that, since he already had _everyone_ _else _at the dorm bothering him about progressing further with the blond.

Besides, why would she bother Soma with his love life when she had her own to figure out?

She had agreed to a new relationship in a span of an hour after having sex the night before. It was borderline, if not completely, scandalous. Certainly not a story to write to her parents. In fact, a small part of her that thought the best thing was to write the event as a summer fling and not start anything serious. However, as she thought more of the relationship she had before with Isami, the doubt disappeared. They had been so comfortable with each other already. They just added another layer of comfort between them.

Entering a relationship with him felt fitting.

She did not have too long to ponder her new relationship. There was a lot of paperwork and duties that had to be done before the start of term. During the school year, the bluette would tackle a lot of the duties as they came up in order to reduce her load when it came to push on her desk duties onto another chair member while she went on a trip or a mission. However, like everyone else in the Elite Ten, she decided to not worry about her desk duties until it was much closer to the end of the break. Besides, she had gone traveling and had to finish up her second-year duties as well. That was the excuse she told herself when she came back to her office to a shit ton of paperwork. The last day of summer consisted of her finalizing her end of the first-year Autumn Elections. She had volunteered to be an overseer in one of the rooms, so she was checking if all the work orders had been filed over the summer.

"You know, you look cute when you're really focused on something."

Megumi, who had her legs pulled up in her seat, nearly fell over at the sudden voice. She looked up, catching the amused expression of the younger Aldini twin.

"Isami, you startled me." She huffed.

"Sorry." He held his hands up in mock surrender, however he kept his smile.

"I thought you were going to spend the day at your apartment?" The twins had gotten back yesterday, and, according to the text Isami had sent her, both were dead tired from the event. They had planned to rest up as much as they could before the start of classes.

"Well, we did have a plan on doing exactly that, but Takumi realized that he also had a load of work he needed to do. So, he came up here this morning to do what you're doing now." Isami shifted, and she noticed the tote that he had on his shoulder. He noticed her curiosity filled expression.

"This," He patted the bag. "Is the reason _I'm _on campus. I'm going to make lunch for us. I have the ingredients in the bag."

"Us?" Megumi echoed.

"You, me, and Takumi. Both of you guys are workaholics and would only notice the time if something else interrupted you." At the mention of time, Megumi glanced at the wall clock. She was a bit surprised at how many hours had passed by.

"I'm not a workaholic…" She mumbled, getting up to stretch. She caught Isami's arched eyebrow at her.

"And my brother is not crushing on Yukihira." He retorted. The female giggled at the sarcasm. Speaking of crushing," Isami went on. "Let me get these out before they get crushed." Before Megumi could clarify what he meant, the brown haired teen pulled out a bouquet of yellow flowers from the tote. Megumi stared in wonder and shock as he came up to her with them in hand.

"I realized that even though we agreed on being a couple, I felt like I need to ask you properly. So," He held out the flowers. "Can I have the honor of being your 'secret' boyfriend?" .

"Yes." She gently took the flowers from his hand. "Daffodils…" She beamed as she recognized them. "They mean "new beginnings, don't they?"

"Yeah, I thought it was fitting."

Megumi placed the bouquet on the desk and pulled Isami by his shirt so that his face was near hers.

"I accept your proposal." She whispered.

"I'm glad." He breathed before she closed the gap between their lips. Her mind started to become hazy as the kiss went on, and she would have kept her position if Isami did not have the willpower to separate first.

"Megumi, Megumi…." He hummed. "We don't need the other members to walk in on us. Our secret would be over before it started. I intend to keep you to myself for as long as I can."

"Yeah…" She mentally slapped herself. Isami squeezed her hand before grabbing the bouquet of the desk.

"Do you have a vase for these in this grand office of yours?"


	4. Game 4

Isami learned that the second years did not get to rest during the Autumn Elections.

What they had to do was similar to what they had to do during the summer. However, instead of the beach setting they were put in groups and set upon various cities. Their task was to run a shop for a week with each other. That meant they had to set up the work shifts, food, and the environment in what was a relatively quiet part of whatever town they were in.

Someone had been watching the second years to see who associated with who and made sure to put virtual strangers together. So Isami vaguely knew who he was grouped with. Of course, they knew him. Having a brother with the looks and status as Takumi, being good friends with several other well-known people in the school, and being a former rebel from the Central regimen would make anyone stand out. There were two girls that found out too quickly that they shared an interest in Takumi and harassed him half the time about his brother. There was also another male on the team who just disliked him just because of his popularity. The guy found fault in basically every single thing that Isami did and made sure that half Italian knew it. Isami spent a lot of mental energy to keep his usual easy-going persona around his hellish partners.

It only took two days for word to spread that students from the greatest cooking school in the world had stationed in the city park. Crowds soon popped up. Isami somehow got the downtime hours, which were longer shifts. His asshole partner had been the scheduler, thinking that he was punishing the half Italian with the increased hour slots. However, Isami learned that it was one of the best things that could have happened during this event. He still occasionally helped during the busy shifts, which was hard because of how his partners were. However, most of his shifts were spent alone, as the other three were resting before their times. There was no rush to make food, so he was able to be a bit more creative with the menu.

The customers that came around during his shifts were also very nice. His favorites were an elderly couple that took a daily walk in this park. They always sat at the table nearby and included him in conversations while he was making their food. He couldn't help but admire the way that they were sweet on each other and how easily they made each other laugh. They were just comfortable in their relationship.

He hoped that he and Megumi would be like that in many years to come.

Takumi had called him in the middle of the week so that they could exchange updates on their situations. The Elite Ten was in their own sort of hell as well. Not only did they had to oversee the first years, but they also had to feed whatever guests had come with the judges, which numbered in the hundreds, and keep up with the normal tasks required of them all while staying at the same hotel the guests were in. His brother was even nice enough to tell him about the status of everyone else in the Elite Ten other than Yukihira. He had his brother give a bit more detail on Megumi's condition, as the only updates that he had from her was a single emoji each night. Turns out the poor girl had been singled out by many of the foreign guests to make their food because of her "hospitality specialty" and was exhausted to the point she fell asleep in whatever position she was relaxing in. Either Yukihira or Isshiki had to carry her to bed.

The last day was awful, as they had their biggest crowd yet because word had gotten around that they were leaving. All four of them had to work the whole day, and of course, he had to deal with the asshole partner with high stress for hours. They easily made their goal, but Isami could feel that he was on his last nerve. At least he got to talk to his favorite customers one last time, which calmed him down enough to say polite goodbyes to his team when they reached the campus. The asshole walked off without a reply, which was fine by him. Isami also cut off any more questions from the fangirls as he got into the school car to take him back home.

Takumi had returned a day earlier and was working out with their free-standing boxing bag in their apartment when the brown-haired brother came home. The older Aldini took one look at his brother's disheveled state and gestured towards the bag. Isami dropped whatever he was holding and silently walked up to the black mass. A few more moments of silence passed before he let out a scream and whaled on the equipment in front of him. Once he felt his arms unable to move, he glanced at his brother.

"I'm tired." He said in a flat voice.

The younger twin then proceeded to fall to the ground and was unconscious for the next five hours.

* * *

Two days later, the twins were walking to Polar Star in the cool early autumn air. Yesterday, they had decided to stay in and do various recreational things that did not have to do with cooking or associating with other people. They needed to recharge. They would have done the same thing again today if Yukihira had not texted the both of them to come over for another Polar Star party. Of course, they immediately agreed to the time that was suggested to go over there.

"I noticed something." Takumi broke the brief silence that had fallen between them as they waited for someone to open the door. "It's a bit earlier than the usual time we meet up for these events."

"Maybe they want to start earlier?" Isami shrugged.

"Just saying." The twins turned their attention back to the entrance as the door opened. Isami brightened at the sight of Megumi being their greeter.

"Afternoon." She opened the door wider to let the boys in. They both said their greetings as they passed her. Isami could immediately tell something was up by how quiet the house was. He knew Takumi could sense it as well as his expression changed.

"Everyone is in the dining room."

"Why?" The twins asked simultaneously.

"Soma didn't tell you?"

"All he told us was to be here around 3." Isami showed her the text on his phone.

"Hey! You guys coming?" The red head in question strode up to the trio.

"You didn't tell them?" Megumi folded her arms, disappointment clearly on her face.

"Nah. I wanted them to be surprised."

"Yukihira…" Takumi was about to go off on him, but the words died on his tongue as the red head grabbed a hold of his wrist.

"Let's go!" He said, dragging the blond towards the dining room.

"L-let go of me!" Takumi stuttered, successfully pulling his wrist free. "I can walk myself."

Megumi sighed, and Isami was able to catch the exhausted expression on her face before she went after the duo. Isami followed, managing to catch her hand for a quick squeeze before they joined the others. He was able to catch the smile on her face as she squeezed back before they let go to enter the dining room.

The rest of their friends were sitting at the dining table, chatting amicably among themselves with cups of tea in front of them. Well, almost the rest of their friends. Isami immediately noticed the absence of the non-Polar Star residents, even though it was mentioned that they were to be invited. He stood by his brother at the entrance as Soma and Megumi went to join their dorm mates at the table. Their chatter stopped almost immediately and expectant gazes were shot their way. Isami could not help but feel slightly nervous as they stared awkwardly back.

"What happened?" Yoshino broke the silence and leaned forward until half her body was over the table, somehow not spilling the cup in front of her. "Did you guys agree?"

"To what?" The younger twin tilted his head.

"'To what?' What do you mean 'to what?'?"

"Soma didn't tell them anything." Megumi clarified. Annoyed grunts and moans came from the rest of the group as the orange haired female glared at Yukihira.

"You said that you would take care of it!"

"I did. I told them to come over at this time and they did."

"Yes, but you should have told them _why _they were asked to come earlier than the rest of the guests." Isami could discern Sakaki's voice among the jeers and whines sent towards Yukihira. The redhead remained unfazed, though.

"That would have been _nice_ to know." Takumi hissed.

"Now, now." Isshiki interjected, effectively calming everyone down. "I'm sure Soma did the right thing in not telling them in text. Announcements like this should be told in person, don't you guys think?" Mumbles of agreement came from the rest of the residents.

"I'm confused." Takumi confessed.

"Me, too." Isami waved a hand to grab everyone's attention. "How do we join the club that knows what's going on?"

"Ha ha!" With two spins, the apron-clad senior was directly in front of them. "It's easy. All you have to do is join Polar Star!" He exclaimed. The twins peeked from behind the eccentric brunet. The rest of the dorm residents watched them with hopeful expressions.

"You're asking us to move in with you guys?" Takumi said it slow, as if he wasn't completely sure if he got the message.

"Yeah!" Sato confirmed. "You guys are practically two of us."

"We tried to ask Nikumi as well, but she said that where she lives is better to get her supplies." Yoshino pouted.

"They still have to pass my test if they want to board here." Fumio interjected. "No exceptions."

"So, when are you moving in?" Yukihira had sidled up to Takumi and was nudging the blond with his elbow.

"Don't just assume that we're moving in!" Takumi huffed, pushing Yukihira away. "W-we haven't even thought about this yet."

"But we've talked about it before. You even agreed that it would be beneficial to us." Isami reminded him.

"But-" Isami caught the glance his brother gave to a certain redhead and connected the dots to the sudden hesitation.

Oh no. Oh hell no.

Isami was _not _going to let his brother's tsundere side take over this decision.

"Please, Nii-chan? I want to, and it will be weird not to have you here."

Takumi was also a walking disaster when left alone for too long but Isami was smart enough not to say that out loud.

The blond stared him down for a few moments before sighing.

"When can we start the cooking test to move in, Fumio-san?"


	5. Game 5

"You guys better win! I'm the one that needs to beat one of you later!"

"Oh, yeah. _Great _encouragement."

"Are you kidding? It was the _best._"

"It wasn't a compliment." Hayama scoffed. "Tadokoro, I don't know how you can deal with him all the time."

"You just get used to it." The bluenette sitting between them giggled. "You seem to get along just fine with him as well, since you've been sitting here with us for a while."

"I'm here because I'm looking at a rival." The white-haired male defended himself. "The seventh seat is not too far behind me. I want to be prepared for the day Takumi decides to challenge me for my seat."

"But that would mean that Takumi would have to go through Alice and Kurokiba as well because all three of your guys' seats change so often between each other." Megumi pointed out, not missing his face flashing irritation. "Besides, the only person I've seen him actively challenge is Soma."

"Then I should challenge him, if he thinks that he could just go for the first seat." Hayama decided.

"We never fight for seat positions." Soma informed. "We just do it for fun."

Megumi, who had only been half listening to the conversation, realized that Hayama's silence had gone on a bit too long for normal conversation. She turned her head towards him, noticing he looked dumbfounded.

"Are…are you okay, Hayama?" Genuine worry started to fill her as he took a few moments to answer.

"That's weird." He finally put out.

"Eh?"

"To have a Shokugeki without putting something on the line."

"They do exist." Megumi confirmed.

"But for the first seat to have such casual matches…"

"Because they're fun!" Soma puffed up with excitement. "In fact, if you want to do one, I'm always available…"

Megumi interrupted him with a glare.

"I mean… just send me a challenge and I'll get back to you on when I can?" He cautiously ended.

"Good job, Soma." She nodded her approval.

"Did you just…_control _Yukihira Soma?" Green eyes widened in shock.

"I promised her that I wouldn't overexert myself with Shokugeki again." Soma admitted. "She told me that I was going to get sick doing that and I didn't listen."

"And you fell ill." Hayama guessed.

"Extremely." A nervous smile flashed across Soma's features. "I couldn't even get out of bed for a couple days. Long story short, angry Megumi is a scary thing to witness."

"I-I wasn't that bad." The bluenette fiddled with her twin braids.

"You chucked the spatula you were cooking with at me as soon as you noticed I wasn't well." Soma chuckled.

"I'm learning new things everyday…" The current fourth chair mumbled in astonishment.

Any further comment was interrupted by the announcer, who declared that the contestants were now moving to the cooking stage of their meals. Megumi's full attention went to the people she was cheering for. Both Aldinis were fighting today, as a challenge had been sent to them by a duo in the third year. Normally, third years would not even bother challenging their juniors, content enough that they had gotten this far in the school. However, Takumi's position in the Elite Ten and the winning streak that the brothers had going on since the end of Central's reign had gathered some interest among all generations at the school. Especially the students that believed they worked well as a team.

No matter how many times she had seen it, the skill the twins had with their _mezzaluna _never failed to fascinate her. The giant knife was a bit daunting to the unexperienced, but the Aldinis were able to train the blade into a dance partner that moved along with their beat. Every cook had a dance with their utensils, herself included. However, it took much more control to be able to dance with another cook, as each person had their own style. The brothers were able to sync up with each other, such a rarity in the cooking world.

While Takumi was placing the dish in the oven, Isami gazed around the arena. Megumi, knowing he was trying to find her, stood up and leaned over the railing. A warm feeling blossomed through her when the younger Aldini finally locked eyes with her. He flashed her a smile before elbowing Takumi, who had just stood up from the oven, to point out the position of her and Soma. The blond gave a short wave before both Aldinis were distracted by the other team trying to start up a conversation with them. Judging by the facial expressions on all four of them made Megumi think that they were exchanging playful banter. Soon, the teams turned back to their dishes, focusing on their final touches.

It was during the last few minutes of the allotted time Hayama let out an unexpected sigh. Two pairs of yellow eyes fell on him with concern. The fourth seat was frowning at his phone. When he noticed his seatmates' gazes, he shut off the screen.

"Nakiri and Kurokiba are looking for me." He explained.

"You don't seem very happy about that." Megumi observed.

"I've been trying to avoid them lately."

"Ah…so is that the true reason why you decided to randomly sit on this Shokugeki?" Soma teased, leaning over his chair arm. "To avoid them?"

"I did not lie earlier when I said I was looking at a potential rival."

"But you're still hiding from those two?" Soma pressed.

"Yes." The white-haired male admitted. "I told Jun that I would not be back until late because I knew they would come over to find me. Jun was the one who texted me now, actually, to tell me exactly that." He waved his phone. "Maybe if I stay out long enough, they would go home to challenge themselves again."

"So, what are you going to in the meantime?" Megumi asked.

The green-eyed teen only shrugged.

The overhead clock buzzed not too long after, and a hush fell upon the arena as the teams approached the judges. The judges finished both servings, a bit of a shock to the audience. Megumi could tell that they were having trouble deciding the winner. All four contestants were still, watching the five judges intensely. The tension started to seep into the audience. Unconsciously, she gripped the rail in front of her, keeping her eyes on her boyfriend's profile. Then the noise of the hanging screen was the only thing that broke the tense air, showing the results of the match. Megumi did not look at the screen until she saw the expressions on the twins' faces.

Three judges voted for Takumi and Isami.

Her face hurt from how wide her smile was. She turned around to face her fellow seat mates. Soma's expression mirrored hers as he grabbed his jacket and hared down the steps to meet the twins. Hayama simply nodded. Remembering that the fragrance expert had failed to tell her of his plans, Megumi stood in front of him.

"You don't have any plans, do you?"

"Um…" Hayama's hesitation confirmed her suspicions.

"Come to Polar Star for a while." She offered. "I doubt that Alice and Kurokiba will go that far to find you and I feel bad to leave you wandering around by yourself." A few moments passed before another sigh escaped him.

"Fine. I'll come along."

* * *

"We're home!"

The group of five took off their shoes as Fumio appeared from the second floor, holding a basket of linens.

"Welcome back!" She shifted her load so she could properly look down on them "I see you guys brought a guest. Staying for dinner, Hayama?"

"Um…"

"Of course he is!" Soma spoke for him. "We wouldn't be good hosts if we didn't feed him!"

Fumio chuffed. "Just make sure you tell Isshiki and Sakaki. It's their night to cook."

"I texted them on the way here." The redhead gave a thumbs-up. The dorm mother nodded before walking off with her pile of laundry.

Hayama shot a look at Soma, slightly bristling. "Who told you to decide for me?"

"Soma's right." Megumi came to the redhead's rescue. "We did invite you and it would be bad manners to send you home without a meal. Besides, you should try other people's food occasionally."

"I guess this gives me a chance to try the second chair's dish." Hayama relented.

"Sakaki's dishes are really good as well." Isami put in as the group ambled along to the den. "I think she's trying a new recipe tonight."

"Wait." Their guest lifted an eyebrow at the twins. "The dorm mother did not question you guys. Are you guys here so often that she assumes that you guys will eat here as well.?"

"Well, we do live here." Isami smiled. "I think it's guaranteed that we will eat here as well."

"Oh? You guys moved in here?"

"I thought everyone knew this." Takumi commented.

"That's right." Megumi gasped. "You were out of town with Jun the day we hosted the post-Autumn Election party a couple weeks ago. We asked them to come live with us earlier that day."

"And you guys accepted?" Their guest seemed shocked.

"Well, we had to take a cooking test before we could move in." Takumi put in. "However, we were able to impress Fumio-san and she allowed us to officially move in the same day."

"You guys _willing _moved in here? With him?" Hayama gestured at Soma, who was fiddling around with one of their game systems. "I thought he was your rival."

"I still think it's hilarious that the dorm mother even placed us on the same floor." Isami started to laugh. "I guess she anticipated the noise Nii-san makes when he gets in his 'Yukihira, challenge me!' moods."

"Stop it, Isami!" Takumi shouted at his twin in annoyance, which caused him to laugh even harder.

"Hey, Takumi." Soma sat on the couch facing the TV, waving a game controller in their direction. "You owe me a rematch."

"Heh." Megumi marveled at how fast the blond's expression changed from irritated to smug. "I don't owe you a thing. You just can't accept that I beat you."

"Hey, I've kicked your ass several times on here. It's you who's scared that I'll do it again." Soma gave a cheeky grin.

"Well, if you really want me to show you who's superior," Takumi's fingers wrapped around the offered controller. "I guess I can accept your request for a rematch."

"And there he goes…" Isami drawled out as Takumi practically vaulted over a couch arm to sit down next to his rival. Megumi gave a faint chuckle, noticing that Hayama was gaining an interest in upcoming virtual match.

"Soma-kun, Takumi-kun?" She called out. When both looked up, she pointed at their guest. "He seems like he wants to play as well."

"I…"

"Sure!" Soma interrupted the scent expert. He stood up and grabbed another controller. "Do you know how to play?"

"I…don't play video games often." Hayama admitted.

"Don't worry, we can teach you." Takumi assured. Soma patted the empty spot beside him. Hesitantly, Hayama sat down next to the redhead. Immediately, the other two on the couch started explaining the game to him.

Megumi thought the sight looked absolutely adorable.

Isami grabbed her attention by tapping her arm. Once her gaze fell on him, he tilted his head towards the stairs. Megumi glanced back at the trio on the couch, deciding that they were already absorbed with their game to register a verbal goodbye. She looked up at Isami again and nodded. They silently left the room to go upstairs.

Megumi could not help but to agree with Isami when it had come to their room placements. She truly believed their dorm mother had placed Takumi on the third floor with Soma so the rest of the dorm members would not have to hear their banter as often. So, he was assigned room 304, which made him and Soma neighbors. The dorm mother also took into account that Takumi and Isami were almost inseparable and made sure to give the younger twin the room key to 305, placing him next door to his brother. When the room numbers were announced that afternoon, she had to control her excitement.

Isami was only a couple of rooms away from her!

It took the twins about a week to get everything moved to the dorms. The first night the twins slept in their new quarters, Megumi took advantage of her boyfriend's location and snuck into his bed for the night to cuddle.

It was once she had returned to her bedroom in the morning that she realized that she had been extremely lucky Isshiki had been on a trip that night because he was prone to welcome newcomers by peeking in their rooms from the roof. She also had initiated their sleeping habits. They would sleep with each other on irregular days during the week. They hadn't had sex since the first time, but they would cuddle and do 'heavy petting'. It was a bit safer for Isami to come to her room at night since Isshiki did not peek in the girls' rooms until he had seen them during the day, which allowed Isami to sneak out easily in the morning.

They parted ways for a bit to go change out of their uniforms. It didn't take long for Megumi to change into a pair of sweats and a t shirt. Opening her door, she saw that there was no sign of her companion in the hallway. She decided to walk down to his room and knocked on his door.

"Come in."

Megumi did as she was told, closing the door behind her. Isami was on his bed, facing the ceiling. He had gotten as far to change into sweats as well, but he was shirtless. "You look too pensive for someone who just won a match." She commented, making her way towards him.

"I think I'm coming down from the high." He helped her climb on top of him. Once she had comfortably straddled him, he placed his hands on her hips and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

"Well, you guys did spend the past couple of days trying recipes. I should know since I was one of your tasters."

"Thanks for that." Her gave her a soft smile. "I'm glad we spent all that time preparing. Mimasaka was right. Those guys were tough. You saw how long it took for the judges to decide."

"Your dish won in the end, though." Megumi reminded him.

"Yeah. Just that, this close match reminded me that I need to get better. I'm glad that their goal was to break our winning streak instead of fighting over seats. One mistake would have costed Takumi's chair."

"Seat battles are usually one-on-one to determine each cook's worth." Megumi commented. She knew where he was coming from, though. Many a night she spent going over the what if's.

"I know that." Isami sighed, and she saw the tension leave him. They stayed in a comfortable silence for a few moments, his fingers finally slipping under her shirt and brushing a particularly sensitive spot on her waist. She shivered, goosebumps appearing involuntarily as she felt the muscle spasm. Ocean blue eyes watched her reaction as he did it again.

"It feels weird." She told him. He gave a light chuckle.

"I just like giving you goosebumps." He removed his hands to push himself up, causing Megumi to move. He moved his lips to her ear and spoke in a low voice. "But I've noticed that I can do that with just a certain tone in my voice, right, _bella_?"

Another shiver ran through her, and her boyfriend chuckled before grabbing her chin to kiss her. Megumi could feel a coil starting to wind slowly in her stomach as she was pushed down, still liplocked with the brunet. Isami broke it off, trailing down her body with light kisses.

"You-you can leave a mark if you want." Megumi told him, and an incredulous look flashed across his face as he lifted his head stare her in the eye.

"Feeling daring this evening, are we?"

"Think of it as my prize for winning the Shokugeki today." She ran her fingers through his hair. It was starting to grow a little long. "You can pick where you want it to go." She watched his eyes squint in thought, before he lifted her shirt.

"Oh, it's the blue and white bra today." He commented, tracing a finger on her stomach. "Can I do one right here?" He tapped a spot low on her belly. She nodded and soon she had a new hickey forming on her stomach.

"I wonder if you like it when I leave these on your body." Isami hummed.

"I like looking at them." She admitted softly. She wasn't lying. Because he left them in places that were covered, she would stand in front of her mirror to admire them. "They're like reminders that I belong to you." Isami exhaled heavily at that.

"Damn." He wrapped her in a tight hug. "Don't say things like that or else we might miss dinner tonight." He warned. Megumi could feel his excitement against her hip, goading her on.

"Would it be so bad to skip straight to dessert?" Heat filled her body as she shifted her hips to rub against the growing lump in his pants. Isami let out a groan, which made the coil forming in her stomach tighten even more. It was rare to see the younger Aldini so red and knowing that she was the cause of it made her even more excited. He pushed her down again, this time letting his hand make its way under her waistband. They both hissed once his fingers found her hot core. A gentle rub on her small nub caused her to buck her hips, and she could feel becoming even more wet. Isami smiled mischievously as he drew his hand back out, causing an involuntary whine to escape her. Megumi could see the shine on his fingers as he placed them in his mouth.

"Dessert does taste good." He smirked. "But it would be unwise to skip dinner."


	6. Game 6

A week after the twins' Shokugeki, Yuki made the proclamation that it was time for the dorm to prepare for the Moon Banquet festival. It was still about a month away but seeing that they had the down time before midterms she decided to take advantage of it.

As soon as the subject left Yuki's lips, Isshiki became ecstatic. Their senior danced around the common room, throwing ideas for a dorm stand. Murmurs of agreement and suggestions rippled through the residents. They had like their results from last year and had no qualms on doing the same thing this year.

"Um…"

Well, _most_ of them had no qualms.

"I'm going to do my own stand again." Yukihira announced.

Silence followed his words, and Isami, who had been fiddling with his slightly tight sleeve, felt the mood shift into something darker. A flash of orange came to stand in front of the red head.

"_What?" _Yuki seethed. "You're doing this again?"

"Yup!" Yukihira grinned, but the smile held just a smidge less sureness. Even he knew the danger he was walking into.

There was a rule that the boys in Polar Star tried to follow, and that was to never piss off the females. Usually, it wasn't hard to do so since all three of the girls had default upbeat personalities and kept up with the antics of the male majority. They even insisted that Isami and Takumi call them by their first names since they were all family.

But boys like to test their limits, and sometimes go too far. Those were the moments when the girls turned into monsters.

Woe on any male who managed to get them angry.

Isami had learned the hard way to disappear when that happens. Ryoko had been chiding Takumi and Soma for using the ingredients in a shokugeki that she had been saving when Isami accidently walked in the room to get water. She immediately got mad at _him_ because he allows Takumi to roam free whenever he's in a mood.

Isami was smart enough to apologize, slip out of the room when she was distracted, and stayed in his room the next time he heard one of the girls yelling.

Because of the mutual fear, if all the girls agreed on something for the dorm, it happened.

But Yukihira was reckless, often to the point of stupidity. If he could, he would charge straight through the gates of the Underworld with a stupid grin in on his face.

"I kind of agree with Yukihira. I wouldn't mind having my own stand again."

Of course, Takumi would be right behind the redhead to journey through Hell.

Isami exhaled through his nose. He knew that he was going to be part of Takumi's stand. The loyalty to his brother was too great to allow the blond to go too far into trouble, even if it left the brunet in undesirable positions. Last festival had been an example of that. One of Takumi's fangirls had overheard the blond's musings about wanting to join the festival and had boldly announced that she would get her friends to help him out. Of course, he had agreed on the spot. Isami had not been there to stop him and it was already set up by the time he had caught wind of it.

"Nii-chan, that's going to be a lot of people." He had warned.

"She only said her friends." Takumi brushed off the warning. "I think they'll be no more than five."

Isami had wished his brother's ignorance had been correct.

The next day, the girl had returned, followed by an _army _of fangirls. Takumi, shocked that he had accidently amassed such devoted fangirls, had looked towards him for help. Isami, after an 'I-told-you-so' look, was nice enough to oblige.

The days of the festival were the days Isami gained a dislike to his brother's fan club.

It followed the same pattern that his second-year fall assignment did: the stall was a success, but it didn't feel like he was part of the team. Other than conversing to get things moving, the members of the fan club ignored him. It was fine by him, but it still left him in a gloomy mood.

Takumi eventually caught on to his low spirits and had chalked it up to just the stress of running the stand. Seeing that they were quite stable in their funds, Takumi decided to close up shop early on the last day. His excuse to their partners was because he wanted to check out the other stalls. It didn't take long for Isami to realize the path they had taken would have them end up by Yukihira's stall.

"They're having trouble." Takumi noticed when they reached it.

"We should help them, Nii-chan."

Takumi had not replied, but Isami clearly noticed the strut that his brother had taken up as they got closer. Isami rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatic throat clearing to get Yukihira's attention and 'accidently' ruined his brother's entrance by getting straight to work. They had customers to serve, after all.

Even though he had been working harder at Yukihira's stand than at his own, Isami could feel his mood lifting. He didn't feel like just an asset. He was among friends who wanted him around instead of complete strangers who they had to be around him because he was their idol's brother.

He wanted to feel that way again.

"Nii-chan." He brought himself back from the memory, eyes focusing on the blond.

"Hm?" Takumi paused his heated conversation with Yuki and Yukihira to acknowledge him, causing them to look over at him as well.

"I don't want to do our own stand this year."

Whoever had not paying attention to him sure as hell were now. It was rare to see the younger twin go against his older brother's plans. Sure, sometimes Isami would persuade Takumi to make other choices like he did when it came to the choice to move into the dorm, but a straight 'no' was unheard of.

Takumi seemed surprised as well, as it took him a few moments to say anything past an 'uh'. Isami took that moment to explain himself.

"It's just that I see where everyone is coming from. This is our last year with everyone, and I don't know what paths everyone is going to take in our final year and a dorm stand might even happen next year. I want _both _of us to help out our friends, but if you are adamant on having your own stand…" Isami dropped his gaze to the floor, steeling himself for the choice he had made.

"I won't help you this time."

Silence followed his words. A small part of him felt guilty for leaving his brother out to dry for his own selfish reasons. However, if he was to surpass his brother's shadow, he needed to not stand by him all the time.

"That goes for me, too, Soma." Megumi's voice instinctively made him look back up. His girlfriend had been sharing the couch with Ryoko a few feet away from his position on the floor. Right now, she had pushed herself off from the armrest she had been leaning on and now was sitting up. Once she noticed him staring at her in wonder, she smiled at him. "I want everyone to work together as well." Isami could feel the tension lessen in the room as a stupid smile creeped up his face. Megumi always had a power to calm people down. Even Kurokiba in his 'berserk mode' would slightly back off when it came to her.

He had to force himself to look away from her. He had plenty of other chances to admire her later. Instead, he gazed in his brother's direction. Yuki wasn't looking nearly as pissed as she had been earlier, but she was still glaring at the guys in front of her. Said guys both taken on serious expressions, uncharacteristically silent.

It was Takumi who spoke first.

"You always humor me, brother, when it comes to my ideas. It's only fair that I do the same for you."

"So, does that mean you'll join us after all?" Yuki asked.

Takumi nodded.

"Well, with that logic," Yukihira sighed. "I guess I will join after all as well."

"All this drama to end up going with the original plan." Ibusaki grumbled, but he had a small smile on his face as the other Polar Star members cheered.

"It's to be expected." Isshiki patted the smoke master's shoulder. "We are Polar Star, after all."

* * *

Midterms rolled around two weeks later.

At Totsuki, midterms were just to be feared as the finals that their cooking classes had, the only difference being that midterms were applied toward the non-cooking classes. Even though Totsuki was a culinary focused school, it still was a school. That meant that there was still pressure to pass the classes required of every student in Japan. Seeing that the school expels anyone at a drop of a hat when it came to anything culinary, there was a need to have a safety net made up of good grades if that worst-case scenario came to pass.

However, Totsuki was a culinary school, and students usually placed any classes not having to do with hands-on cooking on the back burner in order to focus on more challenging activities that were thrown at them during the year. Unfortunately, that strategy only caused the same students to panic once test time came around and they realize how far behind they had fallen in core classes and how little time they had left to catch up.

Isami managed to be one of the few people in Polar Star to not take that method. For one, he wasn't overly competitive, and his focus went to more towards studying than trying to be at the top like more than half of the school was trying to do. The only Shokugekis he would do were with Takumi since the younger Aldini rarely had challenges of his own. His memory and observation skills were also higher than most teens his age, things that his parents had honed in him when he was young and starting to help in the _Trattoria_. Because of that fact, he was able to retain the information that was taught in class much easier than his peers. All in all, Isami felt pretty confident with his ability to pass his classes.

Takumi, however, was not confident at all.

Up until the events at the end of last winter, Takumi was able to walk the same middle path with Isami when it came to schoolwork. However, the blond started to drift off to the sides once Yukihira showed up in their lives. It wasn't bad at first, as Takumi's rivalry was almost one sided and the days that he didn't see the redhead were the days he made himself study. What made Takumi lose his balance completely was when he was suddenly thrusted into the Elite Ten.

Maybe it wouldn't have been as bad if Takumi had gotten in on normal terms, slowly getting used to the workload and the sudden mass of enemies vying for his position. However, that was not what had happened, and the blond had to immediately help clean up the mess Nakamura had made of the school. The job was so great that Takumi had opted to not go home that winter or the past summer, something that he had not done since they had transferred over in middle school. To make sure that the blond would not go overboard, Isami stayed in Japan as well. There were times during those first few months when he had to force his brother to stay at home because he had been up all night because of stress or to make sure that he ate at least lunch with him during classes.

Eventually, things did get easier for Takumi, and Isami finally backed off enough to allow someone else to take over in lowering his brother's tension. That person was Yukihira. It didn't take long for Isami to realized that the relationship between the two had changed. Yukihira had become more receptive of Takumi. Instead of brushing off the blond when something else distracted him, the redhead would try to bring his focus back to the conversation that they had started. Takumi had also dropped the animosity he had with Yukihira, now chasing him as a friendly rival almost like he would with his brother when they had their occasional competitions against each other.

However, there was something true in the phrase 'too much of a good thing'. Takumi, and probably Yukihira, have been slowly getting carried away with the frequency of their matches. First, they had been under the pretense of the possession of the _mezzaluna_, but ever since they had moved to the dorms, they just battle for fun, cutting into the precious free time they had.

Isami knew that his brother was worried about something when their morning run went on a little longer than usual. Exercising had been another thing that their parents had pushed onto them, claiming that chefs had to be fit enough to keep up in the kitchen. Their exercise routine also served as an alternative stress relief when they could not focus on food. It was only when Isami gently told his twin about the time that Takumi had blurted that he was worried about his tests and shyly asked for help.

Had the blond not have immediately followed his misgivings with the admittance that it was his fault for pushing off other schoolwork for so long, the younger twin would had leaned towards letting his brother figure his own way through the exams. After taking the run back home to think, Isami had agreed to help his brother study under the deal that Takumi would not participate in any more Shokugekis until midterms were over and that he would limit them to make time for studying. Takumi reluctantly agreed.

Isami did not have to make any big changes to his own schedule. Part of the reason why he seemed more at ease than most of the dorm was because he already studied for a couple hours every couple of days with Megumi. Even though most of their study sessions would be interrupted because of impromptu cuddling and other 'distractions', they would still get a fair amount done. All they had to do was move their study location from one of their rooms to the dining room and keep their hands off each other, which was easy to do when they sandwiched Takumi between them.

"Why are you guys flanking me?" The blond had asked, and Isami could see the faint panic in his girlfriend's eyes because they hadn't thought of another excuse. "It's not like I'm going to run away."

"Wanna bet?" Isami rolled with Takumi's reason, trying to keep his relief out of his voice. Then, as if the fates wanted to further bless the private couple, Yukihira's voice was heard from somewhere, and Takumi automatically stood up to pinpoint where. "See?" The brunet laughed, yanking at his brother's sleeve to make him sit down again.

"Th-that doesn't prove anything!" The blond huffed, red flooding his cheeks.

"Sure." Megumi simply said.

"You're taking his side?" Takumi whipped his head towards her, surprise evident in his voice. Megumi completely avoided the accusation, instead opening up her music app and settling for their usual lo-fi playlist.

"Let's get to studying, shall we?" She commented. It didn't take long for them to become absorbed in their work. Most of it was reading, the soft music filling the unusually silent room. Occasionally, they would take a break to compare notes if they shared the class, which was most of them.

"Oh, there you guys are." A voice startled them, breaking their concentration.

"Hey, Soma." Megumi greeted. Isami reached over to check the time on her phone, realizing around thirty minutes had passed. The brunet abstractedly unlocked her phone to pause the music, eyes landing on the redhead who still hadn't moved from the doorframe.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you guys."

"It's fine." Isami stretched. "We were due for a quick break."

"Does that mean I'm free?" Takumi asked jokingly.

"Ten minutes." Came Isami's immediate reply as he set a timer.

"Such generosity."

"Hey, you're the one who asked for help. Take it or leave it."

"Fine."

"Help?" Yukihira raised an eyebrow at the blond. "I didn't know that you were failing."

"I'm _not _failing. I just feel that I am not ready for next week." Takumi clarified. "They are just nice enough to help me. Well, Tadokoro is nice enough. My dear younger brother practically made me sign a contract before assisting me."

"It won't take me long to write up one if you want to sign one, nii-chan." Isami shook his notebook to emphasize his words. Megumi scoffed softly at her boyfriend's antics.

"What did he make you do?" Yukihira asked.

"I merely took away his distractions." Isami replied nonchalantly.

"Eh?"

"He told me that I can't do Shokugekis this week and to limit them after finals." Takumi explained.

Yukihira laughed, much to Takumi's annoyance.

"I'm sorry." Yukihira finally got out. "It's just that, I think Isami is hanging around Megumi too much because she did almost the same thing when I got sick."

"Similar tactics for similar people." The female muttered.

"I'm not as bad as him." Takumi muttered back.

Isami, meanwhile, silently marveled on how on the nose Yukihira's comment was about their companionship.

"Anyways, do you guys have time to try out a snack?" Yukihira asked. "Everyone else isn't here or holed up in their rooms. I swear, it's not disgusting!" He waved his hands at the dubious looks the other three shot him.

"Fine." Megumi answered for them.

They went into the kitchen where there were three plates of samples on the counter. They looked similar, only difference they had was the shade of green they had.

"Crackers?" Takumi picked one up from the pale green pile. Yukihira nodded.

"Each of them has a different vegetable as the main ingredient." He pointed at the cracker that Takumi had in his hand, and then at the other two plates in turn. "That's celery. The others are spinach and cabbage."

"Why those vegetables?" Isami asked.

"They were the first three I saw in the storage." Yukihira simply said.

Of course.

Megumi nudged him with her elbow. The bluenette was offering one of the cabbage ones, already chewing on her own with a satisfied expression on her face. Taking as a sign that it was safe to eat, Isami took it out of her hand with his teeth, enjoying her face turning pink. It was a fun game to tease her when they were in public with small gestures like this. Even though she would get embarrassed at the idea of being found out, she hadn't done anything that showed she was displeased with his subtle flirting. In fact, she did it right back, but would wait until they were alone to attack. Even now, he could see the faint promise of revenge in her gaze.

The phone he had given back to her on the brief walk to the kitchen then rang, telling them that the ten minutes had passed by.

"Already?" Yukihira whined. "You guys aren't done sampling yet. I want to know which one combination works better."

"Don't worry, we'll judge before we go." Megumi assured him.

It didn't take long for them to pick a winner and to toss some ideas about what foods to pair with each one. Before they went back to their table, Yukihira stopped them again.

"Can I join your study group?"

"Sure, but we are keeping you and my brother separated." Isami grinned, choosing to ignore the glare the blond shot him.

"Okay!" Yukihira chirped as he scampered off to find his textbooks. Once he came back, the four of them continued to work until the sounds of someone making dinner told them it was time to stop for the day. Over the few days, the rest of the dorm mates slowly joined them for their study sessions. Two days before the midterms had all eleven of them working in the dining room, which was a surprise to Isami because he was pretty sure he had never seen half of them do schoolwork in all the time that he knew them. Even Hayama came over once with the excuse of Jun kicking him out to socialize with his friends.

"I'll just stay with the half of you that doesn't drive me insane." He had said, sitting next to Ryoko, much to her delight.

Midterms eventually reared its ugly head, but Isami could feel that his friends were more than ready to defeat it. That proved true, as there was a sense of calm and accomplishment in the building the afternoon after the last exam.

Unsurprisingly, the dorm held another party the evening of the last exam.

* * *

The next night, Isami woke up pinned to his bed.

He knew it was late because the moon was not in front of his window anymore, but there was enough moonlight streaming in to make out the profiles of the contents of his room.

Including the blue haired girl resting on his arm, making it tingle from the slight blood loss.

Of course, it was uncomfortable, but he was more fascinated about how he managed to roll on his stomach when he was pretty sure he had fallen asleep spooning her. She also had moved, as her body was now facing him instead of the door. Hazily, he started to move his arm out from under her body, waking up a bit more when she started to stir.

_Don't wake her up. _

The thought made him stop long enough for her to settle. Once she had settled, he carefully continued until he managed to reclaim his arm. By the time the slightly painful experience of feeling returning to his arm had passed, he was too awake to fall back asleep immediately.

He decided to focus on the person who had inadvertently woke him up.

Since they started the group study sessions, he and Megumi had bumped up the frequency of sleeping together to nearly every night because it was about the only time they had to themselves. They would alternate rooms because Isami would go out on early runs with his brother three times a week and Takumi did not need to see him coming out of the wrong room. She would leave his room once they left the floor. The other nights would be spent in her room until they decided to get up or she was called via pipe by Isshiki to help outside. Other than the days when they ran, Takumi was not an early riser and Yukihira was a night owl so he always knocked out sometime after two in the morning and slept well after the sun rose. In other words, it was easy for them to sneak back to their assigned rooms. Last night had surprised him because she came into his room again. He thought that they were going to go back to infrequent sleepovers again like they had done before midterms.

"I see no reason to stop." She had explained when he had asked. "Besides, I like sleeping with you."

Of course, Isami had no complaints. Megumi's presence was always soothing to him. Many times he would grab her just to breathe in her earthy scent on particularly stressful days. Even right now he felt at peace just watching her. The moon had decided to shine most of its gentle light on her sleeping form, accentuating her soft features. Isami thought it was fitting for her to be bathed in moonlight. After all, she was a moon herself, a soft light brightening up a dark space with an even softer voice.

"_Luna_." He muttered.

"Hm?" The sleepy reply made Isami tensed up as his girlfriend slowly opened her golden eyes.

"Oh, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine." She yawned. "What were you talking about? _Luna_?"

"Ah." Isami shifted onto his side to face her, using his arm to prop his head up. "It means 'moon' in Italian. I was just thinking how much the moon reminds me of you." When she gave him a confused expression in return, he told her exactly what had been on his mind earlier. By the time he had finished, both of them were wide awake and sitting up on his bed.

"I don't think I'm that special to be compared to something like that." She muttered.

"It's the closest thing that I can compare you to since your beauty far exceeds everything."

"I-Isami!" She whispered harshly, now furiously blushing. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. A few beats of silence passed them by before Megumi shifted back to stare at him. He could tell that she was thinking of something. He didn't say anything to prompt her, though. He just watched until her gaze came back to him.

"I think you're like the sea." She finally said.

"Oh?" Out of all the things that he had expected her to say, a comparison was not one of them.

She nodded. "You're a calm sea. Refreshing on a hot day and relaxing to sit by on cooler days. But as friendly and inviting as you are, you still are very mysterious. After all, only the people who actively dive in know how deep and dangerous you are." She paused, taking in his mystified expression before waving her hands in front of her. "I mean dangerous like you have a hidden power like when you cook or when you do hand-to-hand combat with Takumi, not scary dangerous. Sorry. I'm still a bit tired and my words are not coming out they way I mean them and…" She stopped abruptly when Isami placed his hand on her cheek.

"The sea, huh?" He caressed her face.

"Yes," She murmured, calming down. "The sea."

Isami could feel pressure and excitement start to build up inside him. It was rare for him to be compared to anything in a positive light from people other than his family. Being likened with something like the sea made him feel elated.

"You're turning red." There was a hint of concern in Megumi's voice.

"I think I'm starting to know how you felt earlier." He replied.

"Hmph." She rolled her eyes before flopping onto her back. Her honey gaze settled on him again and Isami could see a spark of another emotion within them.

"Hey, Isami?" She asked after a short while.

He moved his head slightly to show that he was listening.

"If I'm the moon…can I pull the sea towards me?" She twiddled her fingers, watching for his reaction.

He instantly understood what she was saying. He moved from his own siting position to hover over the bluenette.

"You already do." He confirmed before leaning down to kiss her.

As soon as their lips met, Isami felt that it wasn't enough to sedate the growing excitement within him this time. Megumi seemed to think the same way, as she wrapped her arms around his bare torso in an attempt to pull him closer. He complied and ended up straddling her, somehow still keeping the connection between them. It was only when one of them needed air did they break apart.

After they took a few moments to catch their breath, Isami decided to work on Megumi's clothes. It did not take long for him to unbutton her top and immediately made a trail of kisses from her neck to her collarbone once the shirt disappeared. He lifted himself high enough to comfortably hold a breast in hand.

"Perfect fit." He marveled, brushing his thumbs lightly over her nipples. He could feel her quivering underneath from the touch. Chuckling at her antics, he gently placed one in his mouth and flicked it with his tongue, not missing her soft moan. He entertained himself with her chest for a bit before he felt hands start to tug at his pants.

"Off." Megumi commanded, a sign that she was becoming impatient with his teasing.

"Only if yours come off as well." He countered, already lifting himself off to comply to her wish. They both ended up taking the rest of their clothes off. Before Isami could grab her again, the bluenette swung around and crawled towards his nightstand to dig in the drawer, giving a full view of her ass. Unable to control himself, he leaned forward to smack one of the pale cheeks hard enough for the spot to turn red. She paused and Isami could swear she could see a faint smile on her face. He wanted to confirm it but Megumi finally found what she was looking for. He caught the square packet she tossed at him with ease.

"Turn around and show me that beautiful ass again." He kept his voice low. He had picked up that Megumi got a bit more excited when he switched into that tone of voice. Sure enough, he saw her golden eyes shine as she obeyed him.

"Are you going to do the other side?" He heard her ask when he crawled up to her.

"Do you want me to?" He watched her expression. In the month and so that they had been dating, they only had sex a handful of times despite how often they shared a bed. They were still finding each other's limits and Isami did not want to do anything that she wasn't comfortable with. After a few heartbeats, Megumi nodded.

"Can't hear you." He teased as his hand brushed the unmarked skin.

"_Yes._" She said.

The brunet smirked as he immediately complied. "Now they match." He told her as he watched the spot turn red. Megumi look over her shoulder with an expectant expression. "Sorry." He squeezed both cheeks instead. "Don't need you too sore yet." His hand traced the curve of her behind until he got to her center.

"_Merda_" He swore. "How do you get so wet?" He placed two fingers inside and curled them, drawing out a whine from his girlfriend as he hit a sensitive spot. His other hand instinctively wrapped around his cock, reminding himself that he should the condom on before he completely lost himself.

"Isami?" She moaned when he moved out of her to do that.

"Hold on, _mia Luna._" He comforted her. "Protection."

He slid himself inside the moment he had finished, both sighing in contentment. He made himself wait until she got used to him before he started to move. This was a new position for them. Their usual position was missionary but tonight he simply wanted to look and play with her ass more. He grabbed two handfuls of the soft area, squeezing a little harder than he done before. The delightful sound of his girlfriend's moans filled his ears. One of the cons of going doggystyle was that he wasn't able to see her expressions of pleasure as he pumped into her.

Wait. He could change that.

He slipped out of her reluctantly and nudged her to flip over. He wasted no time entering her as soon as she settled, tilting her hips at an angle that prompted a louder moan of pleasure from her.

"Don't get too loud, _mia Luna_." He warned, leaning in to kiss a trail on her neck. "We do have neighbors."

"O-okay." She mumbled. Smirking, he gave another hard thrust at that angle again. He managed to cover her mouth with his that time as she squeezed around him.

"Faster…" She whined once she could talk again. Isami nodded and picked up the pace, reveling in the sight of the "angel of Polar Star" becoming undone because of him. Her face was flushed from exertion, her open mouth emitting unintelligible sounds as he picked up the speed of his thrusts, and her eyes started to cloud over from lust. He knew that many people would actually kill to see this side of the Tenth Seat. A surge of pride and possessiveness went through him. She was his and his alone. No one else would make her feel like this. He reached over and roughly kissed her, which she returned with the same intensity.

"You're mine." He growled. It seemed like that was the final straw for his girlfriend. She bucked her hips and let out a shuddering wail as she came. After a few more thrusts, he came as well, his head falling on her shoulder, their panting becoming synchronized as they started to recover their energy. A little while later, Isami slid out for the final time for the night to throw his trash in the can next to the bed. He'll take it out in the morning. Megumi was checking the time on his phone while he crawled back into the bed.

"It's a bit after three in the morning." She mumbled sleepily.

"Good. Not too late." Exhaustion was starting to hit him as well. He reached up to turn on the fan onto the lowest setting to help cool them off before he lay on his back on the mattress. He felt Megumi scoot up to him until she was able to place her upper body on his chest. They were still sweaty, but it didn't stop him from placing a cover over them.

"Isami." She murmured.

"Hm?"

"I'm glad that I'm yours."

"Same to you." He replied, too tired to do anything but to watch the slow rotation of the ceiling fan.

His internal clock did not give a damn that he was up late last night because he woke up just a few hours later to sunlight. His brain thankfully registered the weight on his stomach was his girlfriend quickly and this time he vowed to let her sleep for a little more. Megumi had left his phone on his bed so he was able to grab it this time. It was a little past six in the morning, more or less around the time he woke up. Maybe he'll wake her up-

His train of thought immediately cut off as he heard a noise from above him. He stiffened as a roof tile shifted and the face of Isshiki filled the gap.

"Oh." The older brunet was clearly shocked at what he saw below.

"Hi, Isshiki-senpai." Isami greeted him, trying to keep his own face neutral despite the slight panic inside him. He knew that they were eventually going to be caught by the roof-dwelling senior. It was just that he was hoping to go at least two months before it happened.

"I was wondering why she didn't answer when I called her room." The senior smiled. "Now I see why."

"Yeah. She's here." Isami looked back down at her, who thankfully covered with the blanket and still asleep. "We'll explain everything later. Just please, don't tell anyone else." He begged.

Isshiki chuckled. "Fine, fine. I won't." He started to back out. "Looking for to talking later." He said before replacing the roof tile. Isami waited until he heard him shuffle away before sighing.

He guessed now would be a good time to wake Megumi up.


	7. Game 7

"What if I go back and hide under the blankets until the end of our third year?"

"You can try, but everyone in the dorm will drag you out as soon as they find out your plan and demand an explanation."

"Well, it _is _Isshiki-senpai's fault. If I blame him vaguely, I can get away with pity."

"I have a feeling that he wouldn't hesitate to explain the situation that led to you hiding out. Then both of us would be screwed."

"True." Megumi sighed. She felt Isami's hand curl around hers in an attempt to comfort her, which she appreciated. It had only been an hour or so since she had gotten up, but she already felt drained. It was mostly her fault that neither of them got much sleep that night, and it certainly didn't help to wake up to news that their roof dwelling senior had caught them in bed together naked. Isami had assured her that she was wrapped up well in the blankets but her half asleep mind at the time almost sent her into a panic attack. The half-Italian must have sensed her alarm because he did not take long to wrap her in his arms and with a gentle but firm voice told her that she needed to get dressed. Having a task given to her helped her mood greatly and by time she haphazardly put on her pjs to travel the few doors down to change into her day clothes, her head felt much clearer.

Now she and Isami were walking towards their garden to meet up with Isshiki to explain what exactly he had seen. Since they were outside and no one else would wake up for just a little longer, Megumi was able to relish the contact between them a bit longer. Isami started humming, another habit that of his that Megumi found endearing.

"You don't have your phone playing this morning?" She asked. Whenever he could, Isami always had some kind of music around him. Every time she would go into his room there would always be a song in the background while he was concentrating on something. When he was exercising or helping outside, he had his phone playing whatever genre others had requested. Even at night he his device on, softly playing tunes until it shut off on a timer he had. The only places he did not play songs was at school, except on lunch breaks with headphones, and when he was cooking in order to have all his senses focus on his dish, save for the humming he did. He was the reason that she could not sleep without music anymore the nights they slept alone.

"I left it charging." He told her, and she remembered that she had undocked it earlier this morning.

"Sorry."

"It's fine, _Luna_." Megumi couldn't help feeling a bit warm at the nickname. Her first smile of the day stretched across her face. "What's the smile for?" He asked.

"I just like the nickname." She answered honestly and she swore that Isami puffed slightly at the praise. She made a mental note to compliment him more.

"I'm glad. But it's only going to come out when we're alone. I don't want anyone else taking my name for you."

Megumi giggled and they both fell into idle chat for a couple minutes before Isami pointed out the person they were looking.

"Hey, Isshiki-senpai!" He hollered to get his attention, instinctively letting go of her hand. Once their senior waved back they made their way over to him.

"Good morning!" The apron clad teen greeted them once they were in hearing range. "I bet you guys slept well enough." He leaned on his rake with a knowing smile on his face. Megumi decided to take the opportunity to pick up two pairs of gardening gloves, avoiding eye contact with the almost naked teen.

"Yup. We had a good night." Isami replied. "Hated the wake-up call, though."

Megumi, astonished at the brazen answer he gave, hurled a pair of gloves at him. He caught them with ease and shot a cheeky grin in her direction.

"But from what I saw, you were already awake when I got there and Megumi was still asleep when I left. I had nothing to do with a wake-up call."

"You have such a guilty conscious." Isami kept the grin on his face. "Never said anything specifically about you."

Isshiki chuckled. "Since we are on the topic of specifics, you promised to tell me the ones that lead towards the scene I saw this morning."

"Yeah, might as well explain now before everyone else shows up." Isami glanced over to Megumi. "You want to start?"

Megumi nodded, deciding to start on the day Isami officially asked her out. It was much more proper to start there rather than the night that had started it all.

"I do remember that vase of flowers." He interrupted. "I wondered why it was there for such a brief time."

"Isami actually brought a second bouquet after the first one died. I told him not to bring anymore to the office because it was getting too close to the start of term and I didn't want anyone's allergies to flare up."

"I haven't stopped getting flowers, though." Isami put in. "They are just in her room now."

Isshiki did not say anything else for the rest of their explanation, which did not take long to finish. Their relationship had not even reached the two-month mark yet, after all, and half their time was taken up by school and other people. There wasn't much to talk about. However, they did stress again for the senior to keep their relationship a secret from the others. After they were done, Megumi fiddled with her braid anxiously as they waited for him to speak. Isshiki sighed and shifted his position on the rake.

"You guys ruined my ships."

Out of all the things that she had expected him to say, it was clearly not that.

"Uh…what?" Isami clearly had not expected that as well, as his flabbergasted expression revealed. Megumi could only stare stupidly with her mouth open.

"My ships." Isshiki repeated. "Come on, Megumi. You should know what I mean. You're a huge manga fan. You should know that term, too, Isami. You have some scrolls in your room from what I have seen."

"Y-yes." She admitted, her thoughts briefly flashing to the stacks of manga and plushies in her room. "I just didn't expect _that_. Saying things so far left field would be something Soma would do."

"What a coincidence that you brought him up. He was the person I shipped you with, actually" The older brunet told her.

"_What!?_" The poor girl screamed. "Me and Soma? That ain't possible! He's just a friend."

"I think if Yukihira started going out with anyone, nii-chan would literally cry." Isami commented.

"I think _you _would cry when you hear who I ship you with." Isshiki chuckled.

"Who did you pair me up with?" Isami warily asked.

"I think you would do well with Mimasaka." Isshiki replied with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever.

Maybe it was because of the nervousness from this morning. Maybe because it was from the shock that Isshiki practically glazed over their news with his own crazy theories. Or maybe it was because of the expression Isami had once he heard who the senior had paired him up with. Or maybe it was a mix of all three that caused Megumi to start chuckling. Isshiki joining her did not help.

"_Che cazzo_." The Italian threw his hands in the air in exasperation and walked toward the middle of the garden. "I'm done with the both of you."

"Don't you want to know why I ship you guys?" Isshiki called out between his laughter.

"No! I do not want to know any god forsaken details that led you to that conclusion!" Isami practically screamed.

"He really is Takumi's brother." Isshiki pointed out how similar the brunet sounded to the blond. Since the middle of the garden wasn't that far, Isami heard that comment just fine and sent a glare their way. Megumi only laughed harder. "But, seriously," Isshiki continued once she had calmed down enough to listen and Isami had wandered back towards them. "I'll keep your secret." He pushed off the rake.

"You will?" Whatever nervousness was left was pushed out by a wave of relief.

"Yup. However," The rake in the senior's hands became a flash of movement and the handle was suddenly pointed threateningly at the Italian. "You better not break our angel's heart, _Aldini_." Isshiki's smile was still there, but his emerald eyes were sparkling dangerously.

Other than the flinch that came from instincts, Isami had not moved. He instead met his senior's eyes with his own sea-blue, which were eerily calm. "I can't promise that I won't." He admitted. "But if I do, it wouldn't be intentionally." Megumi felt pride blossom in her chest at Isami's unwavering figure. Isshiki must have felt satisfied with the answer because he lowered the tool, the usual mirth returning to his eyes.

"Well, I wish you good luck, then." He said before going back to their vegetables. Megumi let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. The brunet next to her took that moment to place a quick kiss to her temple.

"I really meant what I said." He told her.

"I know you did." She replied before they went to go help their senior with the produce.

Altogether, they spent almost two hours outside. By the time they returned into the main building, everyone else was awake and idling around in the shared rooms. Megumi noticed that Soma and Fumio were cooking and Isshiki went in to join them, leaving the couple to pass through the foyer alone. Megumi and Isami were about to climb the stairs to wash up when she saw Takumi make a beeline towards them.

"Are you okay?" The blond asked his brother. "I could feel that you were upset about something."

Something that fascinated Megumi was that mystical twin bond that the Aldinis shared. From what she had gathered from Isami, it ranged from just feeling the other's presence, which was what they felt at all times, to feeling each other's emotions if they wanted the other to. Every once in a while, their connection even allowed them to be telepathic, but that level only happened when their emotions were really strong. Fortunately, other than being aware of the each other, none of their other connections happened unless they were thinking about the other.

She guessed that Isami may have made that mistake this morning.

"I'm fine?" The reply came out as a question. Megumi guessed that he did not know when the connection occurred. Takumi, clearly not happy with the answer, looked at her for help. Quickly thinking, she thought of the anomaly that happened today.

"He's just upset because he and Isshiki don't agree on a ship." She replied, thinking of Isami's reaction to Isshiki's news. The brunet immediately scrunched his face at the memory.

"I was _trying _to not remember that." He groaned.

Meanwhile, Takumi's expression turned into confusion. One of the few things that the twins didn't share was a passion for manga and anime. Takumi had admitted knowing about the basics only because Isami was so interested in it.

"I'm guessing that's an anime term." Takumi concluded. "You guys get too obsessive with those things."

Isami made a quick recovery at those words. "At least my obsession is kept at an acceptable level. I worry about your obsession with a certain red head."

"And here I was worrying about you!" The blond huffed.

"Is that Isami yelling again?" Isshiki peeked out from the door frame. The brunet sighed in annoyance.

"Nope. It's Takumi as usual." Megumi giggled.

"What?" The blond said, Megumi not knowing if it was in bafflement or in protest.

"Oh, we're back to our normality, then." The senior disappeared again.

"Come on, nii-chan." Isami grabbed his puzzled brother's arm. "I'll explain on the way."

Later on, Megumi would find herself sitting across a set of perturbed twins during breakfast.

"You should really ask him why." She prompted them. Another lapse of silence passed between them before Isami sighed.

"Fine."

After breakfast was also eventful. With exams now out of the way, it was now time to figure out what they should do for the Moon Banquet festival, which was a week away. The deadline wasn't a problem for them. After all, all eleven of them were competent cooks who were able to come up with dishes on the fly.

The problem was that they were eleven competent cooks who were able come up with dishes on the fly.

Megumi couldn't help but to congratulate herself for grabbing a space in the Uptown area and convincing everyone to take a break from their study sessions to agree on a design for the booth beforehand as she watched the dorm descend into chaos as they argue exactly what they should be serving. Soma, Takumi, Yuki, Daigo, and Shoji were unsurprisingly making the most noise. Ryoko was also part of the fray, but was not as loud as those others. Shun and Isami were no help at all as they were antagonizing the group, the former getting annoyed and the latter wanting to be annoying. The only outliers were Zenji, Megumi, and Isshiki. Zenji seemed like he was getting tired by just looking at everyone else. Isshiki watched calmly from his position at a table, his smirking face propped on his hands. Megumi's eyes darted worriedly between everyone. She had no idea how last year's meeting went for the dorm stand because she had been too busy with the drama with Soma's stand. Realizing she could just _ask_ what happened, she drifted over to Zenji because she knew that he would be the only one to give her a straight answer at the moment.

"It wasn't as bad as this." The man replied. "Sato and Aoki did argue, but we managed to find a couple of dishes that all of us were able to contribute to."

"Ah."

"But this year will be a problem." He continued, pushing his glasses up. "Last year, we had to deal with only one Elite Ten chair, who volunteered to focus on stall preparations rather than food prep. This time, there are four of you guys. I don't think Yukihira or Takumi would want to just help with the stand."

"True." She agreed, looking back at the arguing group. Megumi could see the problem clearly. The festival was one of the few festivals that allowed everyone a fair chance to be recognized by the public eye instead of harsh judges, something that was needed for all the students of Totsuki since most of them were aiming to serve in the general population. Being the school that they were, culinary heads would also make an appearance, giving the stall runners a chance to be scouted out as well. The Uptown area was where most of these scouters would hit, since it was the area that most of the Elite Ten would have set shop. The non-chair members of Polar Star saw this as a rare opportunity to be recognized, even though it was as a group. However, they were a little scared that their customers might blow over them and give all the credit to just four people instead of the group. That was the reason why Soma's and Takumi's ideas were being shot down immediately. It wasn't fair to the two of them, though, since they had been persuaded to join the stand. But it wouldn't be fair for the others to allow them to run wild. There had to be a balance. The question was how would they achieve that?

"Balance." She mumbled, thinking of the term again. The bluenette felt like she was on to something with that word. "How many kinds of dishes did you guys have last year?" She asked the bespectacled teen.

"Just one. Each person had their own contribution so it was easy to adjust for the customers."

Megumi hummed. Her and Soma had at least two dishes in order to appease the customers who wanted something different instead of a bun. Perhaps adding a second dish would allow everyone to have a chance to contribute in the dishes.

"Um…Excuse me!" She called out to everyone in the room. The dining room quickly fell silent, much to her surprise. Honestly, it felt a little nerve-wracking to suddenly have all the attention on her, but it wasn't unfamiliar. The teen exhaled before speaking up again. "Why don't we make two dishes instead of one? We have enough people to do so."

No else talked for a few more moments as they considered the suggestion.

"That's a good idea." Daigo commented. A few others nodded their heads.

"But it still doesn't answer the question of _what_ we should make." Takumi noted. "And how would we separate who would do each dish if we don't even know what we are serving?"

Thankfully, the gears were still turning in Megumi's head while she was waiting for an answer.

"I don't have an idea for the what but I do have one for the second question." Her eyes flickered between Soma and Yuki, the ones who would might become upset at her words.

"What if us Elite Ten people don't interfere with the non-chairs dishes?" Megumi caught the frowns of the two fire-haired chefs. "I'm not done." She placed her hand up to stop them from refusing. "That's where the two dishes come in. I know we all want to work together, but it would be hard to have all our cooking styles in one dish. Too many cooks ruin the pot."

A light chuckle rippled through the small crowd at the old saying.

"I also know that Soma and Takumi both have trouble reeling in their contributions to dishes, especially when they get into the moment, which is a concern to the rest of us because we want to have our own shine as well. So I think that the four of us should work together on one dish and everyone else could work on the other. That way, everyone is still contributing."

"Hm…" This time it was Shoji who was verbal. "That would only make your guy's dish much more popular than ours. Isn't that what we are trying to avoid?"

"Oh." She had only been focused on how to get everyone to have a chance to work together. The notion that one dish might outshine the others had slipped her mind.

"I think Tadokoro's idea still works." Zenji interjected. "You were mumbling something about 'balance' earlier." He told the bluenette.

"Ah, yes." Came her embarrassed reply.

"We can still do your idea, but we need to fiddle with some things to make it even."

"How so?" Yuki asked.

Megumi noticed a glint in the dark-haired teen's eyes. "Well, the way I thought of it is kind of like a game."

"A stick like you thinking up a game?" Shoji laughed. Zenji shot him a dark look before he went on.

"Kind of a game. First, I'll focus on the theme. We can do it in one of two ways. We, the non-chair students, can collectively think of a theme and they have cook something in accordance with that. Or, to make it further challenging to all of us, the non-chairs can make a dish and have it voted on for a theme and our elite team members have to come up with a dish that compliments the chosen dish _together._"

"You mean we can't submit our own dishes as well?" Soma asked.

"We are trying to work together, Yukihira." Takumi replied, although a bit stiffly. "Of course we can't."

"But how's that second idea working together? How come they can submit their own dishes independently?"

"Because, unlike you, we are not recognized throughout the cooking scene." Daigo growled. "You have all other times to be individualistic. Why can't you let us shine for once as well?" A few moments of silence followed his words as the half the dorm decided to look down at the wooden floor. Megumi's gaze flickered towards Soma, surprised to see an expression of guilt on his face.

"You're right." He looked the dark-haired man. "I'm sorry." He said solemnly.

"I-it's fine." The other teen was surprised to hear an apology. Megumi smiled. She knew that Soma had been maturing since he had the fight with Central, but she was astonished that he had apologized instead of brushing off the comment.

"So," Zenji brought the crowd's attention back to him. "What way are we going to pick the theme?"

"Who would be the judges if we choose the second option?" Isami asked.

"Well, it would be all of us." Zenji replied. "It's going to be something that we will all work on eventually, so it makes sense for everyone to judge."

"Ooh! I can't wait to taste whatever dishes my kouhai come up with!" Isshiki squealed.

"Nice to see you joining in the conversation instead of sitting over there and smiling like an insane person." Shun remarked.

"I saw the pondering faces of Tadokoro and Marui and I wanted to see what they would come up with."

"Did you have an idea, Isshiki-senpai?" Megumi asked.

"Nope!" Megumi squinted, not buying that answer for a second.

"I think I like that suggestion as well!" Yuki grinned. "It's been a while since we had a good ol' Polar Star competition."

"Let's see, we have a bit more than a week before the festival." Ryoko mused. "How about we hold the event in three days? That way, the other group has time to make their dish and we will have enough time to gather our ingredients as well."

Excited words of agreement followed her suggestion. There was no need to formally end the meeting as most of the dorm members were scattering with their brains full of concepts. Isami hung back long enough to send Megumi a smile before heading off, leaving the four Elite Ten members in the dining room alone.

"Man, I really want to join in." Soma whined, back to his old self.

"We'll get a turn soon enough." Megumi soothed him.

"But still, I can't just sit around and do nothing. I'm fired up!" He grabbed Takumi's arm, startling the blond. "I doubt anyone's using the kitchen at the moment. Let's have a cook-off! Please? I want to fight, too." He tugged lightly.

"Hmph, I guess since I'm the only person you can turn to at this time…"

"Ah. Megumi!" Soma turned to her, interrupting the Italian. "You join, too!"

"But I wanted her to come with me to go shopping for supplies for the stand." Isshiki cut in before she could say anything.

"Ah, okay." Soma took that as an answer. "I guess it's just you and me, Takumi. See you guys later!" He half-dragged the blond away to the next room.

"So? What do you say? You want to go shopping with me?"

"Well, you already told them that I was going with you."

"I just said that I wanted you to come with me." He clarified. "You can say 'no' if you want to."

Megumi gave her senpai a long look. She had lived and worked with Isshiki for the better part of four years. She could tell right away that shopping wasn't the only thing Isshiki wanted her to accompany him for.

"Something the matter?" Apparently, she had been staring at him for a little too long.

"N-no." She replied. "I'll get my jacket."

A couple of hours later, the afternoon sun caught the two friends eating at an outside café after they had run their errands. First, they had gone to the hardware store to submit the design that they had worked on last week and confirmed the shipping date of their supplies. Then, they had gone to the regular grocery store in order to stock up on the regular things that the dorm could not make themselves.

"We are about to have a bunch of mini-twisters come through our kitchen the next few days." Isshiki told her after she wondered how they were going to get ingredients for something they did not know yet. "Might as well have the basics available."

Isshiki had also suggested to stop by the café they were at now in order to get some kind of food in their systems on the way back home. Megumi, although thoroughly enjoying her berry parfait despite the slight chill of the autumn air, could not help but to feel a bit anxious waiting for the brunet to reveal his true intentions of his invite.

"What's on your mind, senpai?"

She decided that she couldn't wait any longer.

"Hm?" She asked him while he was in mid-bite of his chocolate ice cream, giving him a chance to think while he swallowed it down. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Are you really going to play that card?" Her nervousness had shifted into annoyance from his answer. She arched an eyebrow.

"I really did want someone to come with me today. It was pure coincidence that you happened to be the only one actually available."

Megumi said nothing, her stern expression unchanging. The older student looked at her and chuckled.

"You surprise me sometimes, Tadokoro. I never would have thought that such a glare would be directed at me from you." He paused. "Just as I never thought you would keep such an involved relationship under wraps from everyone for two months."

There it was.

"So, you wanted to talk more about my relationship with Isami." She poked at a blueberry. "I told you everything you needed to know about it earlier."

"I know. There are some things that need to kept just between the two of you." He mirrored her by also picking at his dessert. "I just want to warn you."

For a brief moment, the bluenette could feel herself going on the defensive. Isshiki seemed to be sticking his nose a little too far in her business, which was the main reason why she and Isami had not gone public yet. Her more rational side quickly came to the rescue and calmed her down. Isshiki had not seemed that he was against the whole thing and had even gone as far to promise them that he wouldn't say a thing to anyone else. This was simply a senpai advising his kouhai, and advice was something she certainly needed.

"Warn me?" Her voice was much softer now, both in tone and volume. Isshiki glanced out at the people milling around in public for a couple of seconds before speaking.

"You guys are going to have a lot of people against your relationship."

Megumi was suddenly reminded of a memory from two months ago. It had been the day after the first time she and Isami had slept together, right before he had left with Takumi. Isami had called her because he had the apartment to himself for a while. The conversation had played out the same way they always do, but that time was the first time when there were no walls of formality between them. Then, Isami had gone silent for a little too long for her liking. She waited a bit longer before saying his name to remind him that they were still on call.

"_People are not going to like us dating." _He had warned. _"They're going to think that the pretty woman in the tenth seat could do better than guy in his brother's shadow."_

"I know others are going to think bad of us." She repeated the same words that she told Isami that day to Isshiki. "But I only care about what we think about it. That's why it was a good idea to not tell everyone and let others find out on their own. It gives us a chance to deepen our relationship with each other without being ambushed by everyone else's thoughts. Also, it's fun to see how long we can fly under the radar." A small smile tugged at her lips at the last part as she finally popped the blueberry in her mouth.

"Well, seeing that no one expects our innocent angel to be sneaking around doing not-so innocent things…" The senior smirked as she nearly choked on her fruit.

"D-don't say things like that in public." She stammered.

"…I think you'll be able to sneak around perfectly well for a while yet."

* * *

Isshiki had been right about the "mini-twisters".

The next couple of days the dorm was bustling as most of their inhabitants were trying to decide which of their many ideas they would settle on for the festival. There seemed to be some kind of consensus that the details of their dishes were to be kept secret from the other team, as every time one of them would wander into the kitchen when it wasn't mealtime they were promptly pushed out. People on the neutral side, like Nikumi and Hayama, were overly welcomed and asked to try whatever concoctions they had made.

Soma, who had been annoyed since the first day, fell further into a pout when he was unable to gain information on anyone's dishes. Megumi knew that the redhead would have liked to relieve his frustration with Shokugekis, however, he had already used up his weekly limit that Megumi had allowed him the day before the decision of the booth had been made.

"Can I do one more?" He begged the next morning as soon as breakfast was over. Takumi had surprisingly turned down another challenge from him. The blond had been more curious to see what Isami was going to come up with and had gone upstairs when he had finished eating. Soma, meanwhile, was now brooding on the sofa. Megumi, upon seeing his mood, came to sit with him for comfort.

"You already know my answer." She told him.

"When did you become so stubborn?"

"Since I realized that you may actually kill yourself if you aren't restrained at times." She deadpanned.

Isshiki must have had overheard the conversation.

"You can help me set up the stand, Yukihira!" He came in the den with a flourish. "Megumi, too!"

"I guess…since I can't cook anything now."

Megumi chose not to remind him that he could cook in his room.

"Do you want me to get Takumi to see if he could come as well?" Though she was addressing both males, her question was more aimed at the gloomy First Seat. Immediately, she saw some spark return into his golden eyes.

Yup, Soma had a special spot for the blond, even if he didn't recognize it just yet.

"That would be glorious!" Isshiki agreed.

Megumi giggled as she slipped past them to go up the stairs. Both of them were so extra. She made her way to Isami's room, as she had heard earlier that that's where they were going to be. It was only after she had noticed the pure shock on Takumi's face that she realized that she had opened the door without knocking, a habit she had acquired when she came over to her boyfriend's room.

"Hey, Megumi." Isami greeted her from his bed, a notebook in hand.

"Hi." She chirped back, waving at the stunned blond sitting backwards in a chair. "I'm sorry that I forgot to knock."

"It's fine." Takumi cleared his throat. "We're just talking."

"About recipes? That might be considered cheating." She said in a singsong voice.

"He's not helping me." The brunet assured. "He's just alternating between asking me what I am making and talking about random things."

"He won't tell me, though," Takumi pouted.

"It would break the pact." Isami replied.

"What pact?" Megumi wondered.

"_The _pact us non-chairs made. We can't share any information about our dishes until judging day. The only reason why I haven't kicked nii-chan out is because all I'm doing right now is brainstorming."

So there _was_ a consensus to keep everything secret. They were really serious about this challenge. However, she didn't feel even the least bit slighted.

"Don't worry, I came to grab Takumi, anyways." The blond looked at her questionably. "You, me, and Soma have been formally invited to help out at the stand."

"Oh." The elder twin glanced at his brother uncertainly. Megumi knew he wanted to stay as long as he could to see if he could glean anything from his twin.

Isami shot that hope down quickly.

"You better take the offer." The brunet suggested. "Once I do get the notion to start cooking, I'm kicking you out."

"You would actually do that?" Takumi queried.

"Without hesitation."

"I can't believe that you would kick out your doting older brother." Takumi dramatically placed a hand on his chest. "I feel so betrayed."

"It's for our own good." Isami defended himself. "If anyone finds out that I am planning with the enemy, they'll kill us both."

"Fine." Takumi gracefully stood from the chair as Megumi tried to stifle a laugh. "I'll go." The two of them said their farewells to Isami and went back downstairs to meet up with the other two.

Later on that evening, Megumi could tell that playful mood that she had left her boyfriend in had completely disappeared. During dinner, the brunet seemed to be lost in thought. He did respond to questions and conversation directed to him, but he had a faraway look in his eyes the entire meal. The bluenette decided that the reason was because he was thinking of the upcoming contest. However, the slight concern returned when she went to tell Isami good night. They had texted each other earlier in the day that it would be safer to sleep separately until the festival was over. She did notice that he had ingredients by his stove, though the classical music floating through his room tipped her off that he wasn't cooking at the moment. Instead, he was just staring at them. She crossed the room to stand behind him.

"Everything alright?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his waist. She could quickly tell that the brunet was tense. Something was clearly bothering him.

"Yeah." He replied. "Just thinking."

Megumi didn't press any harder. Instead, she pressed her forehead against his back, a silent reminder that she was all ears when he wanted to talk about whatever was on his mind. Briefly, she mused that he was gaining his winter weight again, but she could still feel the muscles from his workout schedule underneath.

"I made something today."

She hummed to indicate that she was listening.

"It felt like something was missing. But I don't know what it is." He exhaled, and some of the tension he had left him.

"I know the feeling." She empathized.

He shifted and Megumi took that as a sign to let go. He turned around to gaze at her, and she could see his eyes reflecting a stormy sea.

"Maybe it might help to sleep on it?" She suggested.

"Maybe." He bent down to kiss her. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Megumi nodded. "Good night." She whispered to him before going back to her own room.

The next day was the day before the contest. It passed almost the same way as yesterday had. There was a quick breakfast and the chaired residents took the car to continue stand preparations. They came back earlier than yesterday, though, because Isshiki and Soma were due to start preparations for dinner. That left Megumi and Takumi to hold a conversation between themselves.

"You look pretty antsy, Takumi." The bluenette noticed as he looked over towards the stairs for the third time. "I have a feeling that I wouldn't need three guesses on why."

"I can't help it." He said. "Isami rarely keeps secrets from me…"

Megumi thought those stairs looked very interesting right then.

"…and it feels weird." He finished.

The female closed her eyes for a minute in thought. From the foyer, she could faintly hear the din of Soma and Isshiki starting to make dinner. She could smell the faintest hint of smoke, most likely Shun's cooking coming from an open window. Everyone was diligently working on their own tasks, avoiding each other out of respect. She should do the same. She should distract Takumi with a video game or even drag him in the kitchen with the other two. However, once she opened her eyes, she was faced with the sight of the stairs again, and she felt the impulse to go check on a certain brunet as well.

"You want to see if we can sneak a peek?" She muttered.

Takumi looked at her in shock.

"That's not something I expected to hear from you." He said in an equally low voice. "I thought you would be one of the biggest advocates to not do something like that."

"Yes or no?" She asked. She would deal with the guilt later. For now, she would follow the urge to go to her boyfriend's room.

Takumi nodded, a slightly devious smile forming on his face. She allowed him to take the lead. The blond was surprisingly stealthy, she noticed. But then again, he was usually much quieter when he wasn't around Soma. They made it to the third floor without much noise and peeked around the corner. Immediately, her eyebrows furrowed as she noticed that the door to 305 was open but there was no scent of food wafting through it.

"That's odd. His room is open but there's no scent." Takumi whispered the same exact thing she thought. "Maybe he might be doing prep work?"

"Or thinking." She supplied, remembering the conversation she had with Isami the night before. "But I don't hear his music so you might be right."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." The elder brother started to move forward, but he was pulled back by the bluenette.

"I just remembered." She breathed. "Can't he feel you?"

"Yeah…but I might be able to pull it off if he's concentrating hard enough on other tasks."

Megumi nodded and both crept down the hallway. They didn't even pause, both knowing that their time was limited. They peered in.

Isami was not cooking at all. In fact, he was nowhere near the stove or the counter. Instead, he was on his bed, his focus on the ceiling. The absence of music was the thing that tipped her off that something was on his mind and severely bothering him. Was this the reason why she had the feeling to come in here, because her significant other was troubled?

"Isami." Takumi's tone of voice made it clear he noticed the pensive mood his brother was in. At the sound of his name, the younger Aldini rolled over to look at the door.

"Oh, hey, Nii-chan. Megumi." He greeted.

"What's wrong?" The blond asked, walking to his bed with a purpose. Isami sat up as he approached, allowing his brother to sit beside him. Megumi didn't go to the bed. She instead sat sideways in a chair, twisting her body to allow her arms to rest on the back of the chair. She felt like Takumi needed to be the one to comfort the brunet this time.

"It's not bad…" Isami started.

"But it's big enough to bother you to the point you forget your music." Takumi finished.

"Yeah." The brunette sighed. Troubled blue eyes glanced over at the female in the chair. She tilted her head in response.

Isami sighed again and got up and walked to the corner of the room that had his bookshelf. Both of his visitors watched him intensely.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?" Takumi and Megumi said simultaneously, both their faces twisting in confusion.

"I know both of you wanted to see what I would come up with for the festival."

"It's okay." Takumi replied. "I know it's against the 'rules' to tell us. We'll see it in a couple days, anyways."

"You won't." The brunet turned around to look at them.

"You won't because I'm not entering the contest after all."


	8. Game 8

**Yuki**

_Quick meeting in Zenji room to discuss stuff!_

Isami lifted an eyebrow at the message that had lowered the music volume on his phone. Didn't they just get out of a meeting not even an hour ago? Why was she calling for another one? And why wasn't she using the main Polar Star group chat?

**Ibusaki**

_Why the new group chat?_

**Yuki**

_The others can't know what I'm planning. Now come! _

Curious, Isami looked at the recipients of the group chat. He noticed that it was everyone else in the dorm who were not part of the Elite Ten. Yuki was going full tilt with the surprise element, it seemed. The brunet waited for a few more messages to pop up before sending his own reply confirming that he would be there. After all, he had nothing else to do.

Isami liked the idea of the free for all. Even though he wasn't as competitive as the others around him, he still wanted to win this contest. He wanted the recognition that would come from complete strangers that were well established in the food industry. He needed that confidence boost, that assurance from customers to feel like he was improving.

He needed to catch up with Takumi, after all.

It did not take long to get to Marui's room since he was located just a floor below. Yuki was already there, as well as Ibusaki and Aoki. Marui was not in here, though.

"Where's the owner of the room?" Isami asked.

"Recon." Ibusaki replied. The reply only further confused the Italian, but he decided to roll with it.

He sat down next to the auburn teen and checked his phone. Megumi had texted him on the way down that she had left with Isshiki to do errands. She also had texted him that she suspected that Isshiki had another reason to invite her, which probably was related to the event from this morning.

_Which one? It feels like there were like seven today._

_The first one._

_Ah. Well, let me know what happens. Yuki dragged us in for another meeting so might not answer right away._

_I will._

_Wait, ANOTHER meeting?_

_Yup. Don't know why._

_Okay. Then YOU let ME know what happens then._

_Using my words against me? Lol._

Megumi sent a emote sticking its tongue out in response. Isami let out a soft chuckle before sending an affirmation to her.

"Why are we here?" Ryoko asked as Isami put his phone to sleep. She must have come in while he was absorbed in his conversation.

"It's about the competition." Yuki answered. "I'll tell you guys in a minute."

Sato and Marui came in then.

"Okay. Yukihira and Takumi are well into cooking some dishes in the kitchen." Marui told them.

"And I couldn't find Megumi or Isshiki anywhere in the dorm." Sato reported.

"They went to run some errands." Isami filled in. "Last I heard they went to order some supplies to build the stand."

"Perfect." Yuki slid off the bed. "Operation Secrecy is a go."

"We would _love_ to know what it is before you say it's a go." Ibusaki reminded her.

"Judging by the name and the new group chat, I'm thinking that you want to keep parts about our competition a secret from the other group?" Marui guessed.

Yuki nodded. "I want to keep everything on our end a mystery from the other group until the day of the judging. That way, they could start off with a blank slate."

"You really want to make this as challenging for them as possible, don't you?" Aoki grinned.

"_Yes._" Isami could see the fighting spirit flare up in Yuki's eyes. "We are at war with four of the strongest cooks of the school. We may be fighting our own separate battles, but we must stick together so they won't get an advantage over us. That means that we can't share anything with them. Nothing. Not even a taste or a glance of our dishes."

"That would mean that we would have to kick them out of our cooking areas to make that work." Ryoko noted.

"That's exactly what I wanted to do." Yuki stated. "Tomorrow, we should have a few of us take over the kitchen and make sure none of them can use it until dinner. Also, if you want to cook in your rooms, make sure they don't come in, Isami."

"Why was that last part directed at me?"

"Because I have a feeling that Takumi will try to see what you're doing. And wherever Takumi goes, Soma will follow eventually, which will destroy the plan."

"Fine, fine." Isami held his hands up in surrender. "I'll kick my brother out when I start cooking." He could deal with a pouty Takumi.

At least he would _live _from dealing with a pouty Takumi.

"I might have a problem with keeping people away." Ibusaki raised his hand. "I only get so many free passes from Fumio with an impromptu indoor smoke room, and that last one really got her angry because it took longer than usual to clear out the hall."

"If it gets to the point that Yukihira bothers you, just threaten to send Megumi after him. He's terrified of her." Sato said. The comment drew a few chuckles from the cluster of teens.

"So, we are in agreement?" Yuki asked. Everyone nodded. "Good! Tonight, we plan, tomorrow, we strike!"

"Yeah!"

The short burst of adrenaline Isami got from their meeting left him as soon as he got into his room, exhaustion taking its place. There was no surprise that he was tired. He had gone on a rollercoaster of emotions within the past twenty-four hours, which would make anyone weary. The fact that he was running on about four hours of sleep made it worse. The brunet threw himself on his bed and turned on his music. He must have passed out soon after because he woke up to someone gently shaking his shoulder.

"Isami?"

"Hm…" He stretched and twisted himself to face his brother who was sitting on the edge of the bed. When the hell had he come in?

"You usually wake up at the sound of me knocking." The blond told him. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Isami sat up. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."

"How much did you get?"

"Maybe four hours." Takumi stared at him in shock. "What time is it?"

"About fifteen-thirty." Takumi answered his question. "But what happened last night that made you only get four hours of sleep?"

"Just one of those restless nights. I kept waking up." The answer was true, not whole, but true.

"Ah. Understandable. I get those, too."

Isami resisted the urge to say anything about his brother's statement. He remembered the couple or so times Takumi spent a night over at a girl's room for fun last year. The blond also had taken him one of those times, which had ended in him having his first time in bed with an almost stranger from Takumi's fan club. Even though both him and the girl did it for the experience and had no feelings towards each other, he was a bit glad when she failed out a couple weeks later at her Stagiaire. Isami didn't go with his brother after that one time because he had started to crush hard on Megumi. Takumi stopped altogether during the Central takeover at the school.

"Did you need something, Nii-chan?" Isami asked instead.

"Ah, yes." Takumi brightened up. "Yukihira and I made a bit too much food and I was inviting you to a late lunch with us."

"I'm guessing that you guys want a judge as well?"

"Both?" Takumi admitted hesitantly. "But mainly the first reason."

Isami's stomach chose to growl loudly at that moment.

"I guess I have no choice." The brunet sighed as his brother tried and failed at trying not to laugh.

* * *

"So, any idea on what you're going to make for the contest?"

"I don't know."

"'I don't know' as in you don't know what you are cooking yet or 'I don't know' as in you won't tell me?"

"I don't know."

Takumi exhaled heavily, clearly annoyed by Isami's answers.

Isami sighed in return, much less annoyed by Takumi's badgering. The blond had been asking since yesterday after lunch about his dish. Yukihira had joined in as well, meeting everyone's expectations about him earlier. Thankfully, Isami was able push them off his case by telling them that he was still tired. Takumi's older brother instincts kicked in after he said that and immediately told Yukihira to hush and both stopped bothering him about the subject until dinner.

Isami had gone back into his room after playing a few rounds of a card game with them. He didn't go back to sleep, though. That would have screwed up his sleeping schedule completely if he had. Instead, he looked up dishes of random themes to see if he could get some inspiration from something. Megumi came back later, making a beeline for his bed and resting her head on his lap while he continued to scroll through his phone. She told him a summary of her run, including when she had managed to get Isshiki to get out what he had wanted to say. She then dozed on and off until dinnertime.

Supper that evening gave Isami a chance to see how adamant everyone else was on keeping their dishes a secret. Yukihira and Isshiki had tried to ask several times to different people about the contest, but the subject was always changed when it came too close to specifics.

On one occasion, Yuki had changed it to ask why Megumi looked so tired.

Once the bluenette had comprehended that the subject had changed to her, her nervous habit started to kick in. Yukihira saved her by playfully chiding her about her reoccurring insomnia. She apologized to everyone, saying that she just had a restless night and that she was sorry for everyone's concern.

Isami had hoped that his brother did not realize that her answer somehow almost mirrored his own from earlier. When Isshiki shot him a knowing look, he concluded that he did not have the energy to deal with another person knowing about their relationship so soon.

Megumi did not come in into his room last night. The brunet guessed that she had crashed soon after her bath, which was one of the last ones in the dorm. He didn't go to her room because he had to go running in the morning. It was a blessing in disguise as Takumi got up unusually early and was at his door right before he finished dressing. Takumi had started his questioning after they had started jogging.

"Why don't you want to tell me?" The blond asked at their usual halfway point.

"Because of the pact." Isami told him while looking at his phone. Megumi had sent him a message earlier confirming that she had fallen asleep right after her shower.

"Pact?"

"Yup. The group said no Elites living in the dorm as supposed to know anything about our food until judgement day."

"That's absurd."

"I think it's fun."

"You won't even tell me what you are thinking of making?"

Isami shook his head.

"Fine." The blond huffed. Isami knew his brother, though. He would be glued to his side practically all day for any information, especially since he had nothing important to do.

Isami decided to text Megumi that it would be better for them to sleep in their own rooms until after the festival because of how persistent his brother could be and the chaos that was to come. Her agreement came right before they started to run home.

The coup went as planned after breakfast. Yuki, Marui, Ryoko, and Aoki banned the four chairs from the kitchen when everyone was done eating. Isshiki chuckled at the order and left the room saying something about how excited he was for the next two days. Yukihira did protest, but it wasn't a serious one. Megumi and Takumi simply agreed. Mito, who had come over for…something, was allowed to stay with the group in the kitchen. Isami could hear Yuki catching her up to speed as he left to the foyer.

As expected, Takumi stayed around him. The blond even turned down an invitation for another battle from Yukihira in favor of his mission. Isami could not help but to feel a bit sorry for the redhead when his expression noticeably fell, but he knew that Yukihira would be alright.

"If you're going to stay here, you sit at the desk." Isami told his brother when they got inside.

"Fine, fine." The blond laughed as he grabbed the desk chair and sat on it backwards. Isami turned on his music and sat on his bed. He grabbed the notebook he had left on the mattress earlier and flipped it to the page he was working on.

"So, you _do_ have ideas." Takumi commented as the brunet started to scribble down his lists in a notebook.

Isami grunted, not looking up from his writing. He wondered if the dorm had enough ingredients for what he wanted to do. Maybe he should have asked Megumi to pick something up yesterday. Wait, he didn't even have an inkling on what he wanted to do when she was there, so it wouldn't have not mattered. He still was stuck between two choices. Both of them were Italian based, as he had a natural pull towards the food of his home country despite his fascination with Japanese culture in general. Already he was thinking of alterations to mix the two cultures, but was that the best choice? Wouldn't it be better to keep it completely in an Italian style?

"You look like you are having trouble." Takumi's voice reminded him that he wasn't alone in the room.

"I'll figure it out eventually." Isami replied.

"This is weird." Takumi sighed.

"What is?"

"That we're not throwing ideas off each other."

"It has happened before." Isami reminded him. "More often than you remember."

Takumi didn't reply for a few moments. Isami took the chance to go back to his choices.

"It's been a while." The blond eventually said.

"For?" The brunet questioned.

"It's been a while since we've cooked together."

Isami blinked as he tried to remember the last time they did. Shit, the last time was at the Shokugeki that had been before midterms. They hadn't even cooked a meal together for the dorm since the day before that.

"Sorry." The brunet apologized. "It's been a busy couple of weeks,"

"Don't apologize." Takumi held up a hand. "I've been busy, too." The blond smiled. "Tell you what. We'll set a day or two to make a new dish after all the fuss of the festival blows over. I'll even reserve on of the Elite's cooking rooms so we won't be bothered."

"That would be great." Isami grinned back, excited at the suggestion.

They talked on and off until the door opened unexpectedly. Isami immediately knew it was his girlfriend, as she was the only one who would visit him without knocking. Takumi did not know this fact, thankfully, and was thoroughly surprised to see the golden-eyed female at the entrance. After greetings (and an apology to Takumi) she informed them that she had come to grab the older twin for stand work. Seeing the hesitation in his eyes, Isami warned him that he would have been kicked out anyways. The blond relented after some more persuasion and Isami saw them off with a smile. Once he could feel his twin's energy far enough, the brunet looked back at his two choices.

Maybe he needed a break from brainstorming. A walk might help.

He tried to do just that. What stopped him from going outside were the mix of scents that were coming from the kitchen. He decided to go check that out instead. He stayed at the doorway as he examined the occupants in the room. Aoki was the closest, playing with some type of batter in a bowl. Isami knew that he specialized in fried foods and the dish he was making pointed towards that. Yuki had different cuts of meat on a cutting board, Mito hovering next to her. Marui had three or four bowls next to him, but Isami was too far to see what it was. Ryoko, the furthest one away, was the one to notice the brunet at the door.

"Hey, Isami!" She called, making everyone else look in his direction.

"Hi." He waved back. The female walked over to him as the rest went back to their work.

"Taking a break?" She asked him. He barely got a nod in before the female grabbed his arm. "Are you up for a taste testing?"

"It depends. Will I get my head bitten off if I do?" He glanced over at Yuki, who was the unofficial leader of this whole plan.

Ryoko laughed. "We're allowed to help each other. Feedback is always needed."

"Okay, then. Lead the way."

"Perfect." She led him to her station. Isami watched as she uncovered a pot and served two bowls of a noodle and vegetable dish.

"It's a tofu vegetable noodle toss." She told him as she pushed the bowls towards him.

"You already know your dish." He admired.

"Not completely. I haven't decided on the kind of soy sauce to use, or how to have the tofu, or the organization, or even the list of vegetables I want."

"Better than me. I still haven't settled on a dish to try."

"It'll come to you." She assured him. "You don't have to compare yourself to me."

"Isn't that what this whole thing is about? Comparing each other's dishes?"

"And here I am trying to make you feel a bit better about your situation."

Isami chuckled before dipping his chopsticks in one of the bowls.

"So, what exactly do you want me to taste for?"

"Soy sauce comparisons. I want to see which one works better with the dish."

Isami ate both samples before looking back at the fuchsia haired female. "One's spicier than the other."

"Right."

"Personally, I don't mind that kick. But other people might."

"So, you think I should go with the milder one?"

"I think you should go with both. Have the customer pick if they want mild or spicy. You made the dish in a way both sauces could be used so having those options should work."

"That's true." Ryoko looked at the bottles of soy sauce next to her. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey, you should try mine next!" Aoki yelled from the other side of the room.

"I will!" Isami replied. He looked at Ryoko for permission. She thanked him and released him to see what Aoki was planning to make. After he gave his comments on the food and no one else had asked him for his thoughts, the brunet chose to go back upstairs. His notebook was still on his bed faced down. He picked it up to stare at his choices again. He thought back to his friends cooking downstairs and how they got him to try their dishes. It reminded him on how he used to experiment back in Italy and tried to get the first family member he saw to try whatever he had made. He realized that both dishes had been ones that he made before that he had Takumi try. He chuckled at the coincidence. He was more homesick than he thought.

Then, a deciding factor came to his mind. He should leave the Italian influence in his meal this time but make a variation of the original recipe he had. He thought for a few moments before deciding on the one that he could make the best variation from. He checked his fridge to see if he had the ingredients for it. Once he saw he did not have all of them, he went back downstairs to grab them from the kitchen and the storage.

"Decided on a dish?" Ryoko asked as he grabbed some canned beans from the pantry.

"Yup!" He grinned as he dashed to the deep freezer. He did not know how much time he had before people got home and he wanted to finish before they did. Luckily, he was able to locate everything else he needed quickly and went back upstairs. He opened his window and started to prepare his meal.

Less than an hour later, he heard someone knocking at his door.

"Who is it?" Isami could tell it wasn't his brother because his presence still felt far away.

"Aoki." That's good.

"Come in."

The black-haired teen entered and was about to close the door when something stopped him.

"I told you to wait, Daigo." Ryoko's voice could be heard behind the door.

"Sorry." Aoki opened the door again to allow a slightly peeved female and a slightly confused male behind her.

"Hayama?" Isami didn't hide the surprise in his voice. "Don't you have your own stand to worry about?"

"He's running away from Alice and Ryo as usual." Ryoko filled in. "Which I think is weird because they are teammates again this year."

"Nakiri will not agree with me on a menu." Hayama explained. "I really did not want to exhaust myself this time."

"He arrived just as we were going to come upstairs to check on you." Aoki put in. "Ryoko decided to drag him along since we met him at the door.

"Check on me?"

"Well, you did taste our dishes." Aoki replied. "We came up to do the same. If you want us, of course."

"You guys are welcome to stay and try my food." Isami told them. "I have just enough for all four of us. It's just simmering now."

"It smells like a chicken dish." Hayama commented as the guests sat down.

"Because it _is_ a chicken dish." Isami confirmed. As much as he admired Hayama's talent for discerning scents, he did not want him to reveal the details of his meal before he had a chance to show them. Aoki did not give the dorm visitor a chance to elaborate, though.

"Yuki was doing something with chicken as well from what I saw."

"Oh, she decided on chicken? Last time I looked at her prep work she had different kinds of meat there."

"I think she was trying to see what went better with her rub."

"What was Marui doing? I couldn't really tell what he had there." Isami asked.

"He said he was doing some kind of salad." Ryoko told him. "I forgot the name, but it's from the middle east region."

Isami hummed in response, lifting the lid off the skillet. The food was done. He noticed that he had been right on the amount he was able to serve, as he barely had enough for four plates. He was glad for that because he could remove the evidence before Takumi tried to come in again.

"Here is my version of a chicken skillet." He announced as he placed the dishes in front of them. "It has chicken breast, mushrooms, vegetables, and beans. I sautéed everything in olive oil."

"Parsley for garnish?" Hayama noticed. The brunet nodded.

"Have you made this before?" Ryoko asked.

"I've made a vegetarian version of it a few times, but never one with chicken."

Ryoko nodded and joined the other two room guests in eating the dish.

"This is good!" Aoki grinned. "What seasonings did you use?"

"Well, the parsley as you saw, along with oregano and thyme and pepper."

"That's it? That's so simple."

"The whole dish is supposed to be simple in order to keep up with customers." Isami reminded him. After watching them eat for a few more moments, Isami remembered that he had yet to try his own food. He took a bite, glad that it had balanced out perfectly despite the substitution of the beans he usually used for the ones he found in the cabinet.

"I always like eating yours and Takumi's food." Aoki hummed. "It makes me think that I'm actually in Italy."

The comment did not sit too well with Isami, but because he had no idea why it bothered him the brunet tried to ignore it.

"I'm glad it does that." He laughed it off. He placed another bite in his mouth, stopping in mid-chew in shock. Something had changed with his food. He suddenly didn't feel as satisfied as he had been the first few times he had eaten. He looked over at the other three, noticing that their plates were now empty. He would have noticed their expressions if something had gone wrong mid-way, but they hadn't said a word. He decided to ask, anyways.

"Hey, did you guys notice a difference in the food as you were eating?"

All three of them said no.

"Was there supposed to be something that changed?" Hayama asked. "It stayed constant the whole time through."

"No, there wasn't." Isami told them. "I think I'm just assessing my cooking a little too hard."

"That does happen." The white-haired teen said.

Isami hummed and kept eating. The strange change was still there, but he was able to identify that it wasn't because of the flavors of the dish after all. It was more of a feeling that something was missing that he had not noticed before.

However, he did not know what it was.

His guests did not stay long after they gave their detailed reviews about the meal, something that unnaturally relieved him. He loved when he was spending time with his friends, but right now the mysterious missing ingredient was on the forefront of his mind and he was glad when he was finally left alone to think. He turned his music on and started to wash the things he had used earlier for the food, letting his thoughts wander.

He made sure he focused back in when he washed the sharper tools. The last thing he needed was to surprise cut himself and have Takumi send worried signals to him.

"_I like eating yours and Takumi's food."_

Come to think of it, the change in the food had only happened once Aoki had said that. Had Isami been that bothered by it that it affected the way his food tasted? In fact, why had the comment troubled him in the first place? It was meant to be a compliment. Not even outright insults had affected his taste. The brunet leaned on his little sink and sighed. At least he had found the weird cause for the unsatisfactory taste in his food. But now he had two mysteries to solve.

He had a sinking feeling that he would have to solve one to get the other.

Isami glanced over to his dresser. A small portable projector was on top of the wood. He had bought it at the end of his third year of middle school. It cost a bit more money than he was used to spending, but he thought it was worth it. The grey box was used a lot, especially for anime. After he learned that Megumi was another avid fan, he'd bring it over when he and Takumi came over to visit. They would lay on her bed while watching the shows playing on the ceiling. The only things that changed when he moved in was now there was another room to view them in and they would intentionally snuggle instead of slowly drifting to each other. It was also a great cover story as their dormmates assumed that that's what they were doing when they came up together.

The brunet decided to do just that. He was growing weary of the problem, and he needed to be ready mentally when dinner rolled around. He ended up nodding off during an episode, but he woke himself up this time and was feeling a bit better by supper. Someone else had cooked tonight and he felt content with their food. It made him feel a little bit better that something wasn't wrong with his taste buds. It was something about his own cooking that felt empty. Luckily, many of his dormmates were also lost in their thoughts as well and not much attention was put on him.

After a shower, he pulled out the spices that he had in his cabinet in an attempt to figure out the solution to his problem. Part of him thought it was futile, as he knew that the problem was within him rather than his food. However, he could probably find a clue through this task. He hadn't noticed that he went so deep in thought until he felt something wrap around his mid-section and caused him to tense up.

"Everything alright?" Megumi's angelic voice brought him back to his surroundings.

"Yeah. Just thinking." He told her.

He could feel her putting her forehead on his back. He knew she knew something was up, but she wouldn't ask. He caught the strong scent of her soap, an indication that she had just bathed. That mixed in with the classical music playing in the background helped him calm down a bit.

"I made something today." He told her, not caring that he had practically swore an oath to secrecy. His girlfriend hummed in response. "It felt like something was missing, but I don't know what it is."

"I know the feeling." She replied, and it reminded Isami that he wasn't crazy to be bothered by something like this. He turned around to look at the bluenette and felt better once he saw her beautiful face. He curled part of her now loose hair around a finger.

"Maybe it might help to sleep on it?" She recommended.

"Maybe." It did sound like a great idea, as he was mentally exhausted. He really wished that he could curl up with his girlfriend, but it would be dangerous to do so with the excitement of the dorm. Instead, he had to be content with a kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

She gave him a nod before telling him goodnight. He watched her leave his room before putting up his seasonings. He wasn't going to get anything else done tonight.

_Isami and Takumi were running._

_That was normal. They always ran together. What wasn't was his surroundings. They were on a single path surrounded by dense trees and shrubbery. Isami turned to Takumi, ready to ask where they were, but the blond suddenly veered off the path they were on and disappeared through the trees. Isami was confused but kept on running on what he on._

_He saw his twin a few seconds later, popping out from the brush ahead of him. Isami sped up to catch up to him._

"_Where did you go?" He asked the blond once he was by him. Takumi only grinned before running off to the side again. This time, it took a little longer before he saw him again. He was much further up this time. Isami tried to run up to him again, this time almost reaching his shorter brother before he took off again. It felt like he took even longer to show up again, but the distance had not changed this time. However, Isami suddenly felt too tired to try to catch up this time. All he could do was watch his brother disappear over the horizon._

_**Isn't it tiring being your brother's tag-along?**_

_Isami stopped. _

"_I'm not his tag-along." He told the voice. "I'm his partner."_

_**Tag-along, partner, the other half of a whole…**_

_The sun suddenly shone brighter. Isami raised his arms instinctively to cover his face. He froze once he saw that his arms were black and hazy. He looked down and saw that his whole body was covered in the black mist._

_**Whatever you want to call it, you're still a shadow. Still following your twin despite him forging paths on his own. **_

"_He wants me by his side. I help him."_

_**You've done well with keeping up with him, but can you for much longer? His light grows every day. **_

_As the voice spoke, the light seemed to get closer. Isami was able to make out a figure within it. _Takumi_ was_ _the source of this bright light?_

_**How long until he burns you away?**_

_This mist from his hands started to rise, leaving nothing behind. Isami started to panic. He looked towards his shining brother. Takumi was still coming closer, a warm and inviting smile on his face. The blond seemed unaware of the predicament he was putting his brother in. Isami tried to warn his older twin, but the words wouldn't come out._

_**It's already affecting you. **_

"_W-what do I do?" Isami couldn't go backwards. He had come so far. Going back would make him lose all his progress._

_**You need to find yourself in order to get stronger. Only then will you be able to stand with the light without disappearing. A whole won't work if half of it is gone.**_

_Another path opened up next to him. It looked ominous, as he could not see past the entrance, but he knew that was where he had to go now. It was time for him to veer off the path. _

_He walked into the darkness._

Isami could hear himself snort as he woke up.

Briefly, he was terrified as he noticed sunlight. Had he not gone on that path? Did he burn up after all? Only when he had checked his hands and saw that they were solid and their normal color did he come to his senses.

"_Merda_." He exhaled and fell back on his mattress. "Was that a nightmare or a prophecy?"

Either way, he had found the answer to his mystery.

* * *

"I'm not entering the contest after all."

Takumi's and Megumi's expressions turned into shock as they processed his declaration.

"But…but why?" Takumi asked after a long pause.

Isami explained everything that had happened yesterday starting from the weird feeling of his dish. He omitted the part where Megumi visited, for obvious reasons. He also did not describe his dream, as it had the potential to sound crazy and make Takumi feel guilty that his dream self could cause such harm to his brother.

"So, did you ever figure out what was missing?" Megumi asked.

"Myself."

"Eh?"

"I was missing myself. Every time that someone makes food here, they always add a bit of their specialty in their dish. Like how you have that motherly touch to your dish or like how you can make new flavors from classic Italian dishes."

"But you're able to do that, too." Takumi told him.

"That's _your_ thing, though."

"It could be_ our_ thing."

A part of his dream flashed in his mind.

_Takumi was still coming closer, a warm and inviting smile on his face. The blond seemed unaware of the predicament he was putting his brother in._

But this time Isami could speak to him.

"_No_." Isami surprised himself with how firm the word came out, but he continued. "I've been trying to make it our thing for years, but you're so far ahead that it has become your own. I'm proud of you, Nii-chan, but I need to be proud of _myself. _I can't do that if I'm just attempting to keep up with you. I want to become a better cook, and I feel that the best way to do that is to go find my own thing. That way, I can bring something of my own to our partnership and make us stronger in the long run."

Isami wasn't proud of his speech, but he hoped that he got his point across.

"I know you two were looking forward to my dish this whole time, but I don't feel happy with my food right now." He looked down, believing that he had let the two people he loved down. He heard some shuffling before he felt Takumi's arm on his shoulder and Megumi's hand curling around his hand on the other side.

"It's okay, Isami." Megumi's gentle voice came from beside him. "We understand."

"Are you guys mad at me?"

"Why the hell would we be?" Takumi asked from his other side, causing Isami to look up in shock. "If what you were doing isn't getting you very far, then I want you to find whatever will. Don't worry about me. Now I'm looking forward to what comes next for you."

"And don't hesitate to come to us for anything." Megumi squeezed his hand a little tighter. "All of us will support you no matter what happens." Takumi nodded.

From the moment that he had decided that he would not enter the contest, Isami had been a bundle of nerves. He had been scared that everyone would be angry at him for their wasted time. He had been worried that Takumi would take everything the wrong way. He had been upset over the thought of Megumi being disappointed with him. So when the two closest people to him assured him that they were rooting for him on this plan of action that had not even existed for a full day, Isami was thoroughly shocked. He sunk to the floor in relief, not even trying to hide the tears that were coming out. The two people next him also joined him on the ground, two pairs of arms wrapping around him for a group hug.

"_Gr-Grazie._"

_The path wasn't as dark as Isami initially thought._

_The moon was out, casting its gentle light on him. soothing him from the panic he had acquired before. He could think again. He wasn't scared anymore. _

_He looked back from where he came from. He still could see the sunlight streaming through the branches, no doubt in the spot he had been before. But Isami knew that that bright light wasn't dangerous anymore. In fact, it felt like it had originally: something that pushed him forward. _

_Isami wasn't alone in this anymore._

_He had the sun and the moon with him._


	9. Chapter 9

Soft music was what woke up Megumi.

Out of habit, she waited for Isami to roll over and turn the phone off. However, when she felt no movement and the phone continued to play, Megumi mentally chided herself as her memory caught up with her.

She had fallen asleep alone last night.

She reached over herself to turn her phone off, not surprised to see that she had a couple of texts waiting to be opened on the lockscreen. She could tell that they were from different chats by the symbol, but not the details of who did until her phone was unlocked. The reason she set her phone that way was obvious: no one needed to see the frequency or the content of the texts that she sent to Isami. It caused a bit of an inconvenience from text messages from other people, as she had to keep opening her phone to see them, but it was a small price to pay.

Sure enough, one of the messages was from her doting boyfriend. It was just an innocent good morning text, something he did when they didn't wake up in the same bed. Smiling, she sent a greeting in reply before opening up the other text log. This one was the main Polar Star group chat. Isshiki had made it a few years ago when everyone else had moved into the dorm. Even the group chat had not escaped the dorm's uniqueness. Each one of them had the monikers that had been given to them by the rest of the Polar Star members or by their peers which was chased by an ellipsis. The reason for the three dots was to go along with the name of the group chat, which had been named '_…of Polar Star!_'.

Just by scrolling through, Megumi could see that _The Red Riding Hood…_ was dominating the chat. The day of the dorm contest had arrived, and Yuki was no doubt excited by it. She was finalizing the food schedule for the day. The menu for today was going to be the contestants' dishes, with the judging taking place in the evening after the last meal. Originally, it was going to be two people serving breakfast, two for lunch, and three for dinner. However, with Isami dropping out of the event, everything evened out to just two for every meal today.

Megumi thought back to the events of last evening. She knew that Isami had been deep in thought for the last couple of days. However, she did not expect the outcome to be him not participating in the contest. He had been clearly in favor of the dorm stand idea, even getting to the point where he had foiled his brother's plans for their own stall. For him to abruptly choose not to participate in a contest he had been so excited for was just odd. But once the brunet had explained his reasons, Megumi realized that the decision may have not been as sudden as it seemed.

She knew that it had taken him a lot of courage to just tell her and Takumi of his choice. He had a tendency to keep a lot of his feelings hidden from people behind his usual aloofness, as Megumi found out as their friendship blossomed. Even as Isami was explaining yesterday, she could tell there was more to the story than he let on. But she didn't push for more. Thankfully, neither had Takumi. The two of them just stayed with the brunet until it was close to dinnertime. Realizing that he would have to tell the rest of their friends about his choice, Isami had tensed up again. However, once Megumi reminded him that their friends would support him as well, he had calmed down a bit.

His nerves clearly came back later, though, as he blurted out his news when someone had mentioned the contest.

The room had gone silent, a rare occurrence at Polar Star when everyone was together. Megumi, who had been sitting next to him that night, could feel the waves of apprehension coming from him to the point that she had wanted to hide under the table for him. She heard Isami breathe deeply before he launched into practically the same explanation that he had given earlier.

Once he had finished with an apology, everyone acted exactly as Megumi had predicted. Hugs from the girls, shoulder claps from some of the boys, and everyone telling him not to worry and to go on with his new goal. The reaction from their friends had brightened Isami's mood greatly from what Megumi could see. After that, everyone went back to planning for the next day. Takumi had stolen his brother after dinner for the rest of the evening as the remaining contestants went off to do whatever, leaving Soma to loop her and Isshiki into some video games before bed.

Megumi's phone vibrated, this time with another message from Isami. He told her that he and Takumi had decided to work out in the Hut today instead of running this morning because it looked like it was going to rain. The bluenette scrunched her face in mild disbelief. Was it going to rain? She slipped out of her bed and went to peek out of the curtains. Sure enough, the sky was covered with ominous clouds. Now that she thought about it, her room did look darker than it should have at this time in the morning.

Her morning ritual of tending the garden would have to be canceled today. She did not want to be caught in the storm.

But she still itched to go outside.

She found herself on the balcony a little while later. It was the best place to be at the time, as she got her morning air and she would be able to make a quick getaway when the storm started. The female loved being outside right before a rainstorm, especially during the summer when the air became much cooler after days of humidity. Right now, it was the middle of autumn so there had been a chill in the air before the wind came in. She was glad that she had opted for a windbreaker. Megumi leaned against the balcony and closed her eyes, enjoying the enhanced smell of the forest that surrounded the dorm.

"Wow…It looks like it's going to pour!" A voice pulled her out of her daze.

"Hello, best friend." Megumi mumbled, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"Morning." Soma had made his way beside her because his voice was closer when he spoke again. "Why are you sleeping out here? You could have stayed in bed, you know?"

"I'm not sleeping. I'm just enjoying the morning air."

"Okay." Soma didn't sound too convinced A few seconds of silence stretched between them before Megumi opened her eyes to glance at the redhead.

"Did you need something?" She asked, somewhat concern by his silence.

"Not really." He drummed his fingers on the edge. "I was just wondering where everyone was."

"Well, I know the twins are at the Hut…" She started.

"I already did my exercising for the day, so I have no need to do it again."

"How early were you up to be done already? It's not even…"

"I didn't sleep too much." Soma grinned, as if it was something to be proud of. "I was too excited for today. I ran into Isshiki early this morning and he dragged me outside to teach me some Tai Chi. That was fun."

Megumi blinked in surprise. "You actually liked that?"

"Yup. I even asked him if he could teach me more about it."

"Out of all the sports in the world…" She sighed.

"What? Is that bad?"

"No, not at all! Just the idea of you picking that up is so…"

"Unpredictable?" Soma smirked. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Probably why Isshiki named me _The Wild Card_ in the group chat."

"I always though the reason was because your appearance could either make someone's day and/or fuck someone over, like a wild card does in a game."

The ever-moving Soma suddenly froze, his amber eyes widening as he stared at her.

"What?" The female was puzzled by his stupefied gaze.

"Did…did you just curse?" Soma asked in amazement.

Realizing that she had, the bluenette ducked her head. "Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. I just thought it was illegal for you do such a thing."

"Well, seeing that I spend quite a lot of my time around you and your competition, it was inevitable for me to pick up some …_ choice_ words."

Soma laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about that."

Megumi waved him off, signaling all was fine. It wasn't all his fault. Soma had the power to attract challengers with strong personalities. Many of his frequent challengers were now also in the Elite Ten, so Megumi had her fair share of team ups with said people. She had soon noticed that they attempted to curb their tongues when she was sent on errands with them, but they would slip up eventually if they got distracted.

"Hey, Megumi?" Soma spoke again after a few more quiet moments.

"Hm?"

"I've been meaning to ask you. Were you with Isami when he decided to not be in the competition?"

Megumi was used to Soma randomly blurting out random questions and comments. His brain worked faster than his mouth, after all. This question caught her off-guard, though.

"Well…I-I wasn't around him when he made the choice, but I was one of the first people he told. A-Along with Takumi, since we went to check on him together." She winced at her fumbled reply.

"Ah."

"What made you ask?" Megumi questioned. Usually, his 'random' questions came from unsaid thoughts and she would have him backtrack to completely understand him.

"Well, I know you and Isami are really close…"

Dread started to creep into her. Did Soma know about their relationship as well? Were they not as secretive as they thought? She and Isami made sure to keep their interactions at a friendly level in public, so Soma could have not guessed from that.

Unless…

Had he _heard _them on nights they did things in her room? She knew sometimes Isami had to warn her of her volume, but she thought she had kept it a reasonable level…

"Do you think he's mad at me?"

"Uh…what?" Soma's voice brought her back to her surroundings.

"Do you think Isami's mad at me?" Soma clarified. "I wanted to ask you because he seems as close to you as I am."

So _that's _what he meant as in close. He saw him as another good friend of hers. She held back a sigh of relief as his question settled in her mind.

"Why do you think that? You haven't done anything to upset him. At least, from what I know of."

"Well, I do spend time with Takumi a lot. More than he spends time with Isami nowadays. I remember Takumi saying that he wanted to spend more time with his brother when he said no to another match. That got me thinking that maybe Isami is upset that I've been kind of stealing his brother."

"You only challenge him every day."

"It's not every day..."

"Just often enough to make it seem like that."

"Yeah. I know." Soma rubbed his arm. "Anyways, ever since Isami had announced that he wanted to find his own thing, I've been thinking of ways to try to help him, since we are on the same boat of not having a certain cooking style. But I don't know if he wants to hear me out. That's why I was wondering if you knew how he felt about me."

Megumi took a few moments to think about her answer. Isami had not mentioned anything about being upset at Soma. In fact, the brunet confided in her several times that he would not mind if Takumi and Soma started dating. If Isami was angry at the redhead, he would have not said something like that.

"I don't think he's mad at you." She told her best friend. "But I think it would be best to ask him directly." Soma's eyes flickered to the fog-covered trees as he pondered the suggestion.

"You're right." He agreed. "I should."

"But I think you should wait until after today. We're judging today, after all, and our focus should be on that."

"True."

No sooner than he had said that, their phone chimes went off, indicating that it was the group chat. Soma was the first one to get his phone out.

"Breakfast is starting soon." He read. "Ryoko also sent the order that everyone will be going in."

"Who's first?" Megumi asked.

"Sato and Ibusaki. Then it will be Ryoko and Aoki for lunch and Marui and Yuki will end it for dinner."

"They called us in just in time." Megumi lifted herself of the railing, feeling the first few drops of the storm on her hands. "It's starting to rain."

* * *

"We just can't make a rice dish for everything!""Anything goes well with rice."

"Doesn't mean we have to do it now!"

"Well, why would we go with stew? Polar Star had stew last year. We need to change it up!"

"And rice is the answer?"

It was then Megumi decided to tune out the squabbling between Takumi and Soma. She expected this. All four of the Chairs had been throwing ideas almost the moment after the winner was announced last night. The contest had gone well. It was only delayed because the twins had gotten soaked on their way back from working out and Fumio made them clean up the water they brought into the foyer.

Shun and Shoji had been the first ones of the day to present their dishes. Shun had served seemingly simple pork buns. However, they were heavily filled with smoked meat and other bits of vegetables. Somehow, the dough did not break with the weight of the filling. Shoji had made something called _Bacalhau à brás_. According to him, it was a very common dish in Portugal. It consisted of scrambled eggs and shredded potatoes, salted cod, and onions. Once she detected the fish, Megumi knew why Shoji had picked the dish. His forte was fish, similar to Ryo. Unlike Ryo, however, Shoji had not grown up by the coast. The reason why he had picked fish as his specialty was because he was fascinated with the subject. He had started from scratch, and because of it he was overlooked a lot last year. Fumio had been the only one to see his promise at that time.

Ryoko and Daigo were the ones who served lunch. Ryoko decided to go with a tofu and vegetable noodle toss, as it would allow her fermentation affinity to shine. She even had the choices of sauces for the noodles. For the bluenette with slight PTSD from Soma's attempts of Mapo Tofu last year this was a relief. Daigo, who found comfort in fried foods, served them tempura. He kept it simple by not accompanying the fried fish and vegetables with anything else but soy sauce, but the batter that it was fried in completed the dish.

Last, it had been Yuki and Zenji. Yuki had gone with a variation of tandoori chicken, an Indian dish that roasted chicken that was soaked in yogurt and spices. What she had improvised was the cooking method. Instead of the traditional clay pot method where the meal got its name from, she had roasted it in their rotating oven. Zenji had made a Kisir salad, a dish commonly found in Turkey. He explained that normally it would use bulgar as a main ingredient, along with tomato paste and parsley. However, he substituted the bulgar with rice in order to not completely stray away from Japanese foods and palates.

They had judged four times. One for each meal, and for the final vote. Shoji had won breakfast, Daigo managed to grab the win for lunch, and it was a very close win for Yuki in dinner. Megumi was glad that all three of her votes had won but had struggled to pick a winner in the final round. She could tell she wasn't the only one who had a hard time. Everyone else had their eyebrows furrowed in thought as they contemplated the three dishes. In the end, it had been Daigo's tempura that had won. The unique batter brought out a delicious and unique flavor of the seasonal fish and vegetables. It was also very easy to hand out in the setting they were in and the ingredients were very easy to get at the time. Megumi found out later that the simple way that Daigo had made the tempura made it easier to explore many different pairings it, which was what her group oversaw.

With how creative everyone was in her group, picking one dish that they could all agree on was going to be a slight problem. It was not like they haven't done it before, as many past challenges required them to work as a team.

"Megumi...Takumi's being mean."

"I was not!"

There was just going to be a lot of squabbling in the meantime.

"You're a big boy, Soma. You can take Takumi on without my interference."

She could tell that the males weren't actually fighting. Or at least Soma wasn't. Out of all the times he had to work with people, the only times she would see him actually upset about disagreements were when he was partnered with his father or Erina. Anyone else he would just mess with them, which was exactly what he was doing with Takumi right now. She could tell that the blond wasn't all that upset as well. His posture was relaxed and he had a faint smile on his face when he called Soma out on complaining to her. They were excited about finally being able to do some cooking for the festival, and this was their way to release their enthusiasm. Plus, Isshiki was doing his cooking class this morning so they could not go too far without his input. Not that they had gotten anything done past throwing ideas at each other and messing around.

No one else was at Polar Star to tell them to shape up and focus. They were all at the fairgrounds getting everything ready for the festival in less than a week. Even Fumio had gone. They had waited until they had the first dish decided to truly customize their workspace. From the latest update she had they were planning to make it an open stall plan in order to allow customers to watch them fry up the food. It had been Zenji's idea to do that, as he had claimed that the open cooking would enhance the ingredients and the customer's appetite. It wasn't too far from what they did during the summer.

Amber eyes slid over to the two males still engaged in their conversation. Hopefully their arguing doesn't end up wasting too much time like it almost had during the summer. They were very lucky to get by that last day. It should not, though. They had Isshiki to help. But then, the bluenette remembered just how much "help" he was before the contest had been decided.

Maybe she _should _be worried.

The senior came into the kitchen about ten seconds later after she had that thought. When had he gotten home? She didn't even hear him announce his arrival. Megumi guessed that she must have gotten _too _good at drowning out background noises.

"How's it going?" The brunet asked, already clad in just his usual apron.

"Not good." Takumi answered. "Yukihira is insistent that we use rice for our side of the dish."  
"And Takumi wants to use a stew." Soma added.

After a pause, Isshiki looked over to the table that Megumi was sitting at. "What does our angel think about these ideas?" He questioned, using her dorm nickname. She had no idea why her friends gave her that moniker, but she was fine with it.

"They never asked me." The female replied as she placed her phone on table. "They've been too busy playing around with each other the whole time. I kind of feel like the third wheel in this relationship."

Takumi spluttered, probably trying to reject the idea of him and Soma in a relationship. The other two males just chuckled.

"Sorry." Soma rubbed the back of his head. "We didn't mean to."

"That's okay." She grinned. "You two are just excited."

"So, what do you think?" Isshiki asked again.

"Don't you ever have an opinion when it comes to group projects?" Megumi countered. "The last few times we teamed up with each other, you just rolled with our ideas. I want to hear your thoughts as well this time."

Isshiki leaned to one side in thought.

"I don't agree with either." He eventually said. "But I'll stop there until we hear what Megumi has to say."

Megumi realized that she had inadvertently made herself the tie breaker.

"Um…I don't think we should use those choices, either."

Soma placed a hand on his chest as he staggered dramatically.

"Megumi!" He gasped. "How could you?"

Takumi covered his face with a hand and groaned at the display. He failed to block a corner of his mouth, though, and Megumi could see it turning upwards.

"I do think that Takumi was going in the right direction, though." She continued, watching Soma drop to the floor at her words. Takumi revealed himself again, sporting the grin he had been hiding before.

"I think so, too." Isshiki chimed in.

"That's it." Soma whined. "I'm dead."

"Dead people don't talk." Takumi nudged him with his foot.

Soma grabbed the blond's leg. "They sent me back to haunt you."

"Are you sure the Reaper just did not want to deal with you?" The blond retorted.

The click and flash of Megumi's phone was the thing that interrupted them.

"Couldn't resist." The bluenette had slid off her stool and had silently made her way over to them. "You guys look so cute."

Takumi pulled his leg out of Soma's grasp, his face turning scarlet.

"Alright." Isshiki clapped his hands. "Get off the floor, Soma. It's time to get serious." Once the redhead was upright again, the brunet continued. "Would you like to elaborate on your point, Megumi?"

"Um…I haven't thought too far ahead…" She admitted. "But I like Takumi's idea just a bit more because I feel like we should serve a warm dish as an option. It's getting close to the end of autumn, and our section continues into the night. I think customers would be grateful to have something warm in their hands and stomach to combat the chilly air."

"That's a good point, especially since our stall is going to be so open." Soma commented. "Do you have a dish in mind?"

"No." She sighed. There were too many combinations for tempura, and she had not set her heart on any of the ones that had come to her mind.

"I think we are overthinking things." Isshiki observed. "We don't always have to come up with something so…unique."

"You mean we should go with something more traditional?" Takumi clarified.

Isshiki nodded. "When you guys hear 'tempura', what's the first thing you think about?"

"Udon…" Megumi and Soma said simultaneously. The best friends giggled at the strange coincidence.

"Seems like we have three votes for udon." Isshiki threw his own vote in the recap. "Takumi?"

"Way to put me on the spot." The blond mumbled. Megumi chose not to remind him that she was in the same position just a few minutes ago. "But I have no problem with that idea."

By the next evening, the four of them managed to have a few samples for the rest of their dorm mates.

"You guys already have an idea on what to make for the festival?" Shun asked incredulously. "I thought it would take you guys much longer, considering the teammates you guys had." He nodded over towards Soma and Takumi.

"Surprisingly, they stopped messing around long enough to get things done." Megumi replied.

"I did have to embarrass Takumi a bit in order to have them stop squabbling, though."

"How?" Isami perked up at the last sentence, a grin forming on his face.

"Don't worry about that." Takumi butted in and placed a sample bowl in front of his twin. "We need to worry about the festival."

"_Hold on."_ The bluenette mouthed after Takumi turned his attention towards something else. She pulled out her phone and sent the picture she had taken the day before along with a brief description to the two of them. She had decided to not send the image in group chat, as Takumi would have been furious about that. Then again, it may have been just as bad to send it to the two males whose friendship grew from their shared interest of putting people on the spot.

Maybe even worse, she realized as the sight of their impish grins.

Oh well. It was the price he had to pay for making her sit through hours of him and Soma feuding.

Sure enough, as soon as the taste testing was done and everyone started to go their separate ways, Shun called out to the blond.

"Why'd you do it, Takumi?"

"Do what?"

"Why'd you bring Yukihira back from the dead?"

"What?"

"I told you, Ibusaki." Isami chimed in. "The power of his feelings for Yukihira brought him back. I know for a fact how strong they are."

"What the hell-?" Takumi cut himself off as he realized what they were talking about.

"Daigo!" Megumi quickly walked over to the raven-haired teen on the other side of the room the second she felt Takumi's glare on her.

"Hm? Oh, hey!" Daigo waved back. "What's up?"

"I-I just realized that I didn't congratulate you properly on your win." She replied. It was true that she hadn't, which made the perfect excuse to avoid the potentially volatile blond across the room.

"Oh. Thanks." Daigo chuckled. "I still can't believe that I won."

"Why not? You've won most of your shokugekis this year."

"Yeah. But I've never won against anyone in the dorm before. Well, except against Sato, but he doesn't count."

"There's always a first time." She smiled warmly. "I'm just glad it came sooner than later."

"Thanks." He shot her a grin. He turned his head in the direction of the trio she had left behind. The bluenette did not dare to do the same. "You want to know something?" Daigo spoke up after a few moments.

"Sure."

"I think Isami would have won had he not dropped out of the race."

When Megumi did not immediately reply, her dark-haired peer shifted his gaze back to her. "I tried his dish. Well, so did Ryoko and Hayama. But Ryoko and I did it because he helped us with our dishes. Anyways, after I ate his food, it made me feel like my then-recipe could not even hold a candle to his dish. He even said that it was his first time making that version of the meal. Ryoko even told me that she was afraid of him."

Megumi could not help but to chuckle at that. "Sorry. I understand where you guys are coming from, though."

"Yeah. I made the realization that day that if I wanted to win, I had to be better than him. Guess I won't know for a while if I succeeded." He sighed.

Soon after, Daigo left to do stuff before his turn in the bath. Megumi, ever the person to not like watching people suffer for too long, went back to shoo Takumi's "tormentors" away and to apologize to the blond for letting this happen. Takumi stayed downstairs as the other three went to their rooms, Shun leaving them alone when they passed his floor.

"So, what were you talking to Aoki about?" Isami asked as they reached the third floor.

"Oh, I was congratulating him on his win. I hadn't had the chance to up until then."

"Ah." They stopped by her door.

"We also talked about you, if you were wondering why he kept looking over in your direction."

"You were?" His blue eyes furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

Megumi told him the same thing that Daigo had told her.

"Huh." Isami folded his arms and looked away. "I don't feel like I am as good as he says. Especially now with the problem I am having with my cooking."

"You wouldn't even be here right now if you weren't." Megumi reminded him.

"True."

A few moments of quiet passed before the bluenette broke out into a grin.

"I guess you have potentially gained a rival."

"I guess so." Isami chuckled. "However, unlike my brother, my obsession will not be with my rival."

"Oh? And where would your obsession lay if not with them?"

Isami smirked before he leaned towards the bluenette until their foreheads were touching.

"Oh, _Luna_." He spoke in the low tone that always sent shivers through her body. "Has it been that long since I've shown you where my obsessions lay that you've forgotten?"

Megumi smiled and placed her hands on his hips.

"I wouldn't mind a refresher." She whispered, already feeling herself becoming warm.

Isami chuckled and moved his head to kiss her. Their lips barely brushed against each other before hurried footsteps forced Isami to jump back. Megumi pushed herself off her door just before the culprit turned the corner.

"Oh, Megumi, there you are." Soma grinned. "Are you busy?"

"No!" She squeaked, flustered at the thought of Soma walking in a couple of seconds later. "I-I-I mean…am I needed for something?"

"I just wanted to know if you could come back down for a bit. But…" He looked over towards Isami.

"We were just talking." The brunet assured him. "It's fine."

"You sure?" Soma's gaze went back to Megumi. "You're all red."

Megumi held back a groan. Soma was too observant for her own good sometimes.

Isami smiled. "That was my fault. I teased her a bit too much."

"Ah." Soma seemed satisfied with that answer.

"Anyways, I should get going. See you guys later." With a wave, Isami turned around and went to his room down the hall. Megumi watched him until he disappeared inside.

"Did I piss him off?" Soma asked.

"I think it's more that he doesn't want to bother us." Megumi knew that her boyfriend had escaped as fast as he could in order to calm down. The memory of him pressing against her threatened to make her fading blush flare up again.

"Isami really did a number on you, didn't he?" Soma laughed.

The bluenette forced herself to not say that she wished Isami had done more.

* * *

Megumi would never get used to the glamour of the Uptown section of the Moon Banquet Festival.

She had avoided it in her middle school years after hearing the rumors of how expensive everything was. The first time she had visited the section was last year, when Rindo had invited her and Soma out to eat. The big structures, the beautiful lights, the well-dressed people, and the delicious smell of different kinds of foods hung in the air. If it hadn't been for her companions' insistent pushing and impatience for food, Megumi may have never moved from the entrance.

She was glad she wasn't the only one who had been entranced by the splendor of the region. Other than to help with the set up of the booth during the prep days, the Aldini twins had also not stepped foot in the district. They had been too busy with their own stall throughout the years to even bother. So when they came the first evening for their shift, Megumi got to see their amazed gazes as the lights came on all at once.

"This school really goes all out." Takumi murmured.

"It does." The bluenette agreed.

Their area paled in comparison to the more elaborate designs of others, but Megumi loved it. They were tucked away in a quieter area on the outskirts of the district, so the atmosphere was more relaxed. The stall was much bigger than the stall she had seen in passing last year, as there was now a few more people to help out. The stall was mostly wooden, with colorful banners spread across the sides. Other than a roof above the whole thing, the building was left open as it was planned, which was a good thing because they would need the air from all that frying. At night, they had a generator kick on in order to light up the kitchen area. The rest of the stand was illuminated by hanging lights, giving it a warm but spooky glow. Isshiki had even done the same thing he did last year and placed a board with all their faces beside the booth.

They had about twenty tables surrounding the booth with about four chairs each. Each table had a lantern in the middle of it to light up the tables with the same warm glow that the stand was under once the sun went down. Despite the location and the humbleness of the booth, they had a steady influx of people coming through their stand. Megumi had taken up an almost permanent job of waitressing and soon found out that a lot of the daytime customers had been fans of both the Polar Star Dorm and of the individuals within. The older ladies from Isshiki's cooking classes were one example, and she was surprised to see that they remembered her from the few times that she had accompanied her senior to the seminars. Takumi's fangirl club also came by. The reason she knew that they were his fangirls was by the way they actively searched for the blond and would screech with happiness whenever they caught sight of him. Only then would they sit for a meal. After the second day, Megumi was glad she had two or three other people helping her with the tables because after hearing a conversation about Isami actually looking attractive this time, as the brunet had slimmed back down again thanks to the added stress from his new goal, she place the group as far away from the booth and the twins and left them in someone else's hands. She would have snapped at them if she hadn't done that.

Other than that, the first three days of the festival went by fine. It was the fourth day that Megumi's exhaustion caught up with her. It did not help that she had the morning shift after working the night shift. It wasn't because of poor planning. She was supposed to work the afternoon shift originally, but Zenji had wanted to go to an event in the morning and Megumi had volunteered to switch with him. After all, she had worked on little sleep before. She also got to experience the morning shift, as she was never scheduled to be there at that time. It was much slower than she was used to because their main customers were elite members of cooking society, and those kinds of people never woke up early if they didn't have to. She actually got to sit down on one of the stools by the bar. However, as her adrenaline rush went down, she could feel herself getting tired. A yawn escaped her.

"That was a big yawn."

Megumi turned her head towards Isami, who was leaning on the bar from the inside. He wore his usual playful expression, although a bit smooshed because he was resting his face lazily on his hand.

"Sorry." She smiled sheepishly.

"It's to be expected." Isami replied.

"How are you holding up?" She asked. Isami still had trouble tasting his food correctly but had insisted on cooking in order to not lose his skills.

"I'm fine. As long as I follow both recipes. It's more if I try to create something by myself that I would have a problem."

Megumi nodded.

"Do you have any plans after this?" Isami questioned.

"No."

"Do you want to make plans to hang out and look around? Unless you want to go home and rest. You did work a double shift, after all."

Megumi shook her head, perking up at the invitation. "I want to hang out." She affirmed.

Isami grinned. "Great."

The rest of the shift seemed to go by just a bit slower, despite the increase of customers. By the time it came to get off, Megumi could barely keep her excitement down.

"You seem in a hurry to leave." Shoji, her relief, noted.

"It's my first time this year to have time to see the festival." She replied.

"Don't let me hold you back then." Her friend laughed before going to work. She made her way to the booth, where Isami was talking to his brother.

"Oh, ready?" The brunet asked once he caught sight of her.

"For what?" Takumi asked as she nodded.

"Megumi wants to see the festival, and I can't let a lady walk around by herself." Isami replied.

"Ever the gentleman." Takumi smiled at his twin.

Isami, however, looked away.

"Anyways, I'll see you guys later." Takumi nodded at her and went back into the kitchen area.

"Does Takumi know about us?" Megumi asked once they were far enough in the crowd. That had been the smile of knowing a secret.

"He knows that I have a crush on you." Isami admitted.

"Aw…you have a crush on me…" Megumi teased.

Isami gently pushed against her side. "Shush." He told her as giggles erupted from her.

They decided to start off their exploration with their friends' booths. The first one they ran into was the Lab Coat Trio's stand.

"Megumi! Isami!" Alice had been the first one to spot them. She quickly made her way to them and pulled them up to the front. "Here to try our dish?"

"I mean, you literally just dragged them up here and put them on the spot." Hayama pointed out bluntly. "Would be hard to say 'no' at this point."

"She's right, though." Megumi admitted. "We do want to try your dish."

"Here." Docile Kurokiba slid in between them, holding two plates to the visitors. As soon as the food was grabbed, he went back to the crowd outside.

"Stuffed peppers!" Alice virtually sang.

"But what are they stuffed with?" Isami frowned. Megumi could tell that her expression mirrored her boyfriend's. The pepper shells were recognizable, as they were just regular halved peppers. However, the inside was filled with little orbs. It reminded her of those squishy ball toys that grew in water.

"Eat it and find out." Alice goaded them on.

The couple did so, the orbs bursting in Megumi's mouth as soon as she started to chew. The surprise was clear on her face as the tastes of onion, tomatoes, fish, and spices filled her mouth."

"Like it?" Alice grinned. "We made a stuffed pepper mix and I took their flavors and made them into sphere form."

"That's cool!" Isami stared wide-eyed at the other half of his pepper before popping it in his mouth.

"You should share with everyone." Megumi suggested.

"We would, but that would require leaving the booth." Hayama noted.

"Then why don't you?" The bluenette asked. "You have enough staff."

"But we don't want an imperfect dish to go out." The white-haired male replied.

"He's just a workaholic." Alice interjected. "But no one can do my method like me, and what if we run out? And Ryu stays by me, so he won't go anywhere."

Megumi hummed. She knew that all her friends loved to try each other's creations, but it would be hard to do so when most of them were up here with the long hours of the Uptown district. They would have to get together after…

"Wait, duh." Megumi passed her plate to Isami and took out her phone. "Polar Star always has a party after the festival." She explained as she started to type on her phone. "Why don't you make enough to share then?"

"How much are we talking about?" Hayama asked.

"I'm sending the message to all the members of Polar Star and the Elite Ten. Plus, to Erina and Hisako, and Ikumi. She replied. "So at least that much."

"Great. Let me put my phone on silent." Hayama announced as he pulled out his phone.

"So, we botched our plans to visit our friends' stalls because of your idea." Isami said after they had left the trio. The brunet was looking at his phone. "Everyone who has replied has agreed so far, by the way."

"I did do that." Megumi realized.

"Well, there are plenty of other places to eat." Isami pointed out.

"Yup. Ooh! Can we go to the Local Cuisine RS booth? They set up in the Central Area this time."

"Wherever you want to go, _Luna_." Isami smiled. "But please try not to lead us in circles."

Megumi chuckled. "Okay, we will make our way over there."

And that was what they did. They would stop occasionally for meals and games and performances that interested them. Sometimes, because of her status, students would ask her to try their dishes. Of course, being the courteous person she was, she would not refuse them. Eventually, they made it to the Local Cuisine RS booth, where they stayed and ate and chatted for a bit before leaving again. This time, since they had no goal, they ended up wandering aimlessly until they ended up by Kuga's…establishment.

"I would make a joke," Isami said as they took in the massive structure that stood out in the Central region. "But I'll wait until he is potentially out of earshot. Megumi scrunched her face in confusion until she saw Kuga making his way over to them.

"Megumi!" The shorter male greeted enthusiastically as he approached them. "You're not with Yukihira?"

"Hello to you, too." Isami sarcastically replied.

"No, Soma at our booth right now." Megumi pointed in the Uptown direction.

"Did you guys break up? You guys are always together."

"No. We were never dating in the first place." It was a common occurrence for people outside of her main group of friends to think that she and Soma were dating. She did correct the people who asked, but the assumption remained.

"Oh. Well, then." Kuga placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yukihira better step up before it's too late." A wolfish grin appeared on Kuga's face.

Megumi did not miss the implication of Kuga's words. Nor did she miss the slightly louder intake of air from her boyfriend.

"Too late for what?" She hid behind the innocent persona that people pegged on her. She would do that sometimes when she wanted to discourage people from trying to woo her.

Sure enough, it worked this time.

"Never mind." Kuga stepped back. "I should head back. See you later." He playfully saluted before heading back up the stairs. Once the senior was out of sight, Isami sharply turned away. Megumi did not blame him for being upset. He had been practically ignored by Kuga and had watched her get hit on.

"Hey." Megumi touched his arm.

"I'm fine."

"Bullshit." She was _not _going to let him hide behind a mask this time. Isami opened his mouth, but Megumi interrupted anything he was about to say. "Follow me." She ordered.

The bluenette led the way through the crowds, taking a path that avoided any of the food stalls. She still held on to his arm so she would not lose him, as many visitors were doing around them, so no one paid them any mind. Soon, they reached one of the school buildings. Because most of the festival took place in the giant courtyards, the actual buildings were more or less abandoned for the time being. They were still open in case something was needed or if it rained, though. They continued walking in silence inside the quiet halls until they reached the specific room that she was looking for, which was one of the cooking rooms reserved for the Elite Ten. It was only after she locked the door and pulled Isami into the window-less walk-in pantry did she dare to wrap her arms around his stiff body.

"We're alone now." She muffled into his chest. "Let loose if it you want."

A sigh escaped him before he wrapped his own arms around her and lowered his face into her hair.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "It's just that…I got upset from how he acted the moment he realized that you and Yukihira were not dating. I know he's always so casual with everyone, but his demeanor shifted right then."

"I know. That's why I pretended I did not know what he was talking about."

"I have a feeling that it was only the beginning." Isami said, hugging her just a little tighter.

"I'll reject him every single time he tries."

"I'd understand if you ever want to go with him." He sighed.

"Isami." She took a step back to look him in the eyes. "Remember how you said that you are obsessed with me?"

He nodded.

"Well," The bluenette grabbed the front of his sweater vest and gently pulled him closer. "I feel the same about you. So, anyone else trying to date me would just be wasting their time."

"What did I do to deserve such an amazing girl like you?" Isami leaned in until their foreheads were touching. "My amazing, perfect, beautiful _Luna_."

"I don't know if I am any of those things. But I do know that I can't wait for a kiss any longer." The bluenette whispered before closing the gap between them. As soon they made contact, Megumi realized that she had been missing him a lot more than she had realized.

"_Touch me_…" She breathed once they broke the kiss, not caring about how lewd she sounded.

"Whatever you say, my queen." Isami chuckled. He pushed her against a wall and started to unbutton her shirt. "We have to be quick, though." He warned as he pushed her bra down to reveal her breast. "People might start looking for us soon."

"Uh-huhhh…" She sighed as he pulled at her nipples.

"I'll tease and fuck you properly later, though." He whispered huskily in her ear, sending shivers to her core. He kissed her again, letting his hands go up her skirt this time. He gave her ass a quick squeeze before tapping one of her legs. Understanding what he wanted, she curled that leg around his waist.

"You soaked your underwear, _Luna_." Isami breathed as he traced her through her panties.

"It's your fault."

"I think it's fair." He grabbed her hand with his free one and pressed it against his crotch. "After all, this is your fault." Megumi could not help but to feel proud that she had caused the bulge protruding from his slacks. But before she could ask if she could free him, he pushed her underwear to the side and gently rubbed her sensitive nub, eliciting a moan from her. He soon slid two fingers into her, and her hands went to his shoulders for support as he started to finger-fuck her. Megumi shifted, groaning and closing her eyes in pleasure once she got into a position where those long digits hit the spot that she wanted.

"You're so adorable." Isami hummed, adding a third finger and picking up the pace. Megumi only replied with a hum, already losing herself to the sensation. Isami cursed, and she suddenly felt the absence of his fingers. She opened her eyes and saw him pulling out his wallet.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist not being inside you any longer."

"You shouldn't have in the first place." She softly scolded him, her hands going to unbutton his pants. Once his dick sprung out, she stroked a few times before Isami placed the condom on in. He lifted her body up with relative ease and slide right in her. More moans came from the both of them as he started to get a rhythm.

"Faster!" She cried, mewling in pleasure when her demands were met.

"Look at you." Isami grunted. "The innocent angel of Polar Star …willingly getting fucked in a school pantry."

"You're…one to talk…" Megumi panted. "I thought…you were…supposed to be a gentleman."

"I won't tell if you don't." He winked. Megumi gave a breathy chuckle. Isami shifted her body, and it ended up cutting any further conversation because it felt _so _good. Eventually, the coil in her stomach released, and she was glad she was between the half-Italian and the wall because she would fallen. Isami came a stroke or two later, and pressed her further against the wall as he took a bit to catch his breath. Megumi remembered that they soon adjusted themselves and cleaned up the mess they had made, and she remembered sitting at one of the tables in the room.

What she did not remember was falling asleep at said table.

But she remembered waking up to Isami whispering in her ear and the setting sunlight streaming into the window.

* * *

All the districts closed at the same time on the last day, which was in the early evening. The early closure was to allow vendors to pack up in time for the fireworks show later on. As they cleaned up, the rankings were announced for each section.

Polar Star's stand ended up winning in the total rankings for the Uptown region.

It wasn't a total surprise, as they had four chairs in the stall and the lowest prices of the district, but it still was a surprise because who would have thought that the humble stand off to the side would gain so much attention. (Again, probably due to the four chairs and prices.)

Whatever the reason, Megumi knew for certain that Daigo had the biggest grin on his face for the rest of the night.

The group had gathered later in an emptied courtyard later to watch the fireworks. Soma had been a bit shocked that the festival had ended on such a serene note, as he never had the chance to experience the Totsuki Moon Festival normally, but was still impressed by the insane amount of fireworks that were shown. The redhead kept grabbing Megumi and Takumi in excitement at particular ones, the blond for once not telling him to knock it off.

Megumi woke up the next morning feeling a bit more rested than she had been for weeks. It helped that everyone had gotten home earlier than they had been for the past few days and she had slept through the whole night for once. Also, she noticed that she had slept in, as it was almost ten in the morning instead of six or seven. She shrugged it off, though. Tonight was the party so she needed all the rest she could get.

She checked her phone messages, noting that she had not been the only one that had slept in as a couple of her dorm mates had said that they had woken up past their usual times. She also got her usual good morning text from her boyfriend, indicating that he was awake. Soma had also texted her much earlier than the other messages, saying that he had gone to the store and had wanted to invite her, but she had been fast asleep when he had checked on her. So, he took Takumi along with him. The bluenette wondered how the blond was awake before seven in the morning when it wasn't a running day. Also, she was very glad that she had slept in her own room last night, as Soma had mentioned coming in this morning.

With his habit of often coming in her room unannounced, Megumi was very lucky that she and Isami had not been caught by him yet.

Seeing that he wasn't in the kitchen or in the dining room when she went to get a quick brunch, she made her way back up the stairs to his room. She opened the door, immediately greeted by soft playing jazz music. An older song, she realized, as her eyes fell on the figure at the desk. Usually, he would greet her from wherever he was in the room. Today, however, he didn't even turn his head from the video on his laptop. Did he even know that she was inside his room? Megumi smirked as a mischievous idea came to her mind.

This was a rare opportunity to startle the usually perceptive Isami.

Quietly, she made her way towards the distracted brunet, encircling her arms around his shoulders and placed her chin on his head like he would do to her often when he hugged her from behind. Isami stiffened and she let out a giggle.

"Did I surprise you?" She asked.

"You did."

But it wasn't Isami who answered.

Her amber eyes widened as she looked down at the computer screen.

"Judging by your expression, I think I got you back." The older man on the screen laughed heartily. Megumi didn't share his amusement. In fact, she had frozen with shock and growing embarrassment. Isami tapped on one of her hands.

"Breathe, Megumi."

"So, Isami, are you going to introduce me to the pretty girl on your shoulders or do I have to do it myself?" Megumi, realizing that she was still draped over the male, immediately retracted herself and looked down to hide her reddening face.

"Hold on. I'll do it." She glanced back up at the sound of the chair scraping the floor, and Isami gestured for her to take the seat. Megumi shakily sat down and saw herself face to face with the person on the screen.

"Megumi, this is my father, Aldini Hiraku. Papa, this is Tadokoro Megumi. She's my girlfriend."

"Nice to m-meet you." Megumi bowed her head.

"Likewise." Aldini smiled warmly. "I take it that this wasn't the way you were planning to meet me." His dark eyes shone with mirth.

"No, it was not." Megumi looked down at her hands.

"So, you got yourself a girlfriend." Aldini's attention went back to his son's. "Your mama picked the wrong day to be out. She would have been ecstatic hearing this news."

"Um…actually, can you not tell her about this yet? Takumi doesn't even know about us yet." Isami admitted.

"What? I thought he would have been the first one to know about this." Isami shook his head. "How long have you guys been dating?"

"Since the end of summer, so about three months."

"I've talked to you a few times during that period. You've kept this hidden for that long?"

"Surprisingly."

Aldini laughed. "Today's full of surprises, it seems."

"But, please, don't tell Mama." Isami asked again. "If she finds out, she'll let it slip to Takumi and I don't want him to get angry at me from finding out from someone else."

Aldini looked to the side in thought for a moment.

"Okay, I won't…"

Isami sighed.

"…if," The older male looked over to Megumi. "You invite Tadokoro to Italy over winter break. I would like to meet her properly."

"How does sound, Megumi?" Isami turned his head to her. "Would you like to come along with us for the holidays?"

"I would have to write to my mother and tell her first." Megumi replied.

"Great! We still have more than two months, so we have plenty of time to plan. Isami, you better call me as soon you find out."

"Yes, Papa."

"Okay. I'll let you guys go now." Aldini grinned. "Oh, and congratulations."

"Thank you." Megumi answered.

"_Ciao._"

"I'm sorry." Megumi apologized as the screen went blank. "I didn't know you were on call with your father."

"It's okay." Isami patted her head. "I'm more concerned about if you're angry at me for telling him about us."

"I did make it obvious." She groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"If it makes you feel better, you did scare me when you came in."

A muffled 'thanks' came from her.

The brunet sighed. "It seems that we have a list of things to do now."

Megumi lifted her head. "Which are…?"

"We need to tell Takumi."

"When do you want to tell him?"

"I think…" Isami started after a minute of silence. "If he doesn't figure out by two weeks before winter break, we tell him then. But I have a feeling that he will beforehand."

"Okay."

"We also have to figure out what you are going to write to your mother."

"Oh no." Megumi groaned, remembering her mother's words of saving herself for marriage. Which she had not done. At all. "What am I going to say to her?"

"I'll help you if you don't want to do it alone." Isami offered. "And, if we both get stuck, we can ask Isshiki for help."

"Thanks." Megumi smiled, appreciative of how supportive her boyfriend was being. That was something she could tell her mother. "Anything else on our to-do list?"

"Yup." The brunet stretched as he went to go check his phone. "And it's long overdue."

"What is it?"

"We need to go on our first date."


	10. Game 10

**WE HAVE A DISCORD!**

**Well, I'm part of a Sns discord. I didn't make it. It was birthed from Tumblr, which I'm pretty sure a lot of people dropped after it being gutted. If you want to join, the link is down below!**

** /JSw8zEq**

* * *

Two months.

They had almost two months until the trip back home.

Already a week had passed since the video call with his father, and Isami thought they were making good time with some things. Megumi had sent the letter to her mother a couple days ago, deciding that she should write it herself in the end. Of course, he was fine with the choice. She knew her mother best, after all. Now all they could do on that is play the waiting game.

There were other things that Isami thought he was doing no-so great.

Like the first date.

He knew that they needed to have at least a couple of official dates before he took her home to his parents. His mother and grandmother were somehow love experts, meaning that they could find details in relationships with very little clues. They were bound to find out how late he was in taking Megumi out, so he hoped that if he came with some date stories he won't be scolded as harshly.

He had also insisted to be the one to pick the location of their first date. It felt proper to do so, after all.

But where should he take the girl that could travel anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat?

For help, he decided to go to Isshiki. Not only was the senior aware of their relationship, he seemed to have more experience when it came to appeasing females. He managed to catch the eccentric third year alone on afternoon in the garden after coming home early due to a canceled class.

"You mean you guys have gone this long without a first date?" Isshiki had asked incredulously once Isami had explained his predicament. "The next thing you're going to tell me is that you slept with her before even asking her out."

Isami was smart enough to not comment about that very true statement.

"Anyways," Isshiki continued on to his relief. "There are several events going on around the neighboring towns from what I heard. That might give you some ideas if you want to look them up."

"I did." Isami must have looked even more miserable because the senior went on.

"Look at them again, this time without the 'It has to be perfect' perspective. You should know that Megumi doesn't like over-the-top things, even if she gets stuck in the middle of them a lot."

"That does happen often for her." Isami hummed.

"As long as you guys have fun the location doesn't matter." Isshiki reminded him.

Isami took his advice and revisited the event list he had. This time, some of them seemed like they were much more of an option now than earlier. He also saw some permanent locations that could work as well, like parks. He actually played with the idea of a picnic in the park. Autumn was the best time to be outside with its cooler temperatures and the beautiful scenery.

However, he had to abandon that idea because of two problems.

The biggest one was the one he was going to have with any decision, which was how he and Megumi were going to sneak out for a whole day and not get questioned by anyone. It would be harder to do so with cargo. They would have to leave early in the morning to avoid most of their dormmates.

The second reason was because he still had problems with his cooking. Everything he made still had that missing element. Megumi deserved something that he had spent his best efforts on, and he was not up to the task in his current state.

So, whatever he decided on had to be during the day, easily excusable, in his budget, and wouldn't rely on his cooking. At least he had some more flexibility in his budget because his father had wired him some extra money with a note telling him to 'go somewhere nice'. Other than that, he was still stuck on where to go.

"Either think a bit more or tell me directly because I'm tired of hearing bits and pieces of your thoughts." Takumi's complaint brought him back to the present. Panicking, Isami severed the unintended link with such abruptness that Takumi visibly winced.

"Sorry." Isami mumbled. "How much did you hear?"

"It was only a few seconds of scattered words. Not enough to know exactly what, though."

"Okay" Isami sighed. He leaned forward in the chair and placed his arms on Takumi's desk. He had tagged along as usual after their last classes to the Elite Ten office. Kinokuni was in the office alone when they got there, but other than a greeting she didn't really talk to them.

"So, what's wrong?" Takumi asked.

"Nothing." It was the truth. Nothing was wrong in a bad way.

"Oh, really?" The blond paused in whatever paperwork he was doing and fully stared at his twin. "So, I guess you being almost out of it all day and the accidental telepathy was the result of 'nothing?'"

"Well, it's nothing bad…"

"So, there_ is_ something on your mind?"

"There's always something on my mind, Nii-chan. I make up from when you don't." Kinokuni chuckled as a long sigh escaped Takumi. Isami thought he had managed to get the subject dropped.

"You're trying to avoid the question."

Damn. He was caught.

But before Takumi could press any further, the door to the office opened and a very familiar redhead came inside the office.

"Oh, you guys are here, too!" Yukihira grinned as he made his way towards his desk.

"Well, I am part of the Elite Ten." This was one of the moments Isami was relieved that all of Takumi's focus never failed to be on Yukihira the moment he was aware of the First Chair's presence.

"It's only natural." Kinokuni added.

"I'm glad you guys are here." Yukihira sat down and frowned at the stack of papers he had. "I was afraid that I might be alone in the office today."

"No Megumi?" Takumi inquired about the redhead's constant companion. Yukihira shook his head.

"She seemed weird today, like she wasn't all there. So, I told her not to worry about going with me to the office and go home as soon as she could."

"Oh?" Takumi looked back at Isami. "Isami has been acting the same way." Isami could see the gears turning in his brother's head. Dread pooled in the brunet's stomach. Was _this_ the moment that Takumi was going to figure out that something was going on between him and Megumi? Because _Yukihira _tipped him off?

"You're exhausted, too, Isami?" The redhead asked in disbelief.

"No." Isami answered, confused. "Why? Was Megumi exhausted?"

"Yeah. She seemed a little bit slower today and really unfocused. I wonder if it's because of her insomnia. But she usually isn't this bad."

Isami frowned. He and Megumi have been sharing the same bed the past few nights, but all they have been doing was cuddling and sleeping. She even seemed to be sleeping a bit more through the night. Why would she be as bad as Yukihira says?

"Where is she now?" Isami asked.

"On her way home. I walked her to her bike and I offered to go home with her, but you know how stubborn she can be and insisted that she would be fine and that I should go into the office. That's why I'm here." Yukihira shifted his glance back to his papers. "Even though I hated sending her off alone."

"You're smart enough to notice something wrong with her, but dumb enough to not go with her?" Kinokuni shook her head. "Dumbass-ery at its finest."

"Yukihira, you never send a woman in need off alone." Takumi reprimanded.

"I know, but I also learned to listen to a woman when they say 'no'." He glared at the both of them. "I told her to text me when she got home. And she left about ten minutes ago. If I don't hear from her within the hour, I'll text her."

The others reluctantly agreed. Even though Megumi did eventually send a message within the time limit, Isami still wasn't pleased. Maybe a few minutes passed after her message before he abruptly stood up.

"You're going to go check on her." Takumi stated, knowing exactly what he planned to do.

"Yup."

"Don't tell her you heard anything from me." Yukihira begged. "She'll get upset that we're worrying about her."

"I won't. I'll just say Nii-chan told me to go without him."

"Go on without me." Takumi called out.

"And now I'm not lying." Isami chuckled before saying his goodbyes.

He got home a while later and immediately went upstairs to put his bag down and change into regular clothes before entering Megumi's room. It was what he always did, and she would be quick to notice him veering from his habits. It turned out to be a great decision because his girlfriend was sprawled out on his bed, already changed and sleeping. A smile crept up Isami's face at the sight. He quietly did what he intended to do before sitting at his desk and texted Takumi that Megumi was asleep. He stayed at his desk until Takumi texted him again to tell him he and Yukihira were on their way back. Thinking it was a smart idea to wake her up before they got back, he went to his bed.

"_Luna_." Isami shook her shoulder gently until her golden eyes opened and she lifted herself up.

"Isami." She yawned. "When did you get home?"

"Maybe about two hours ago?"

"Two hours?" She repeated before she winced, her hand flying to the side of her head.

"You okay?" Isami asked in concern.

"Yeah. Just a headache." Her other hand patted around the bed for her phone. "The nap helped a bit." She added once she found it.

Isami hummed. "Are you going to take something for it?"

"I should be fine."

Isami hummed, not convinced. He could see why Yukihira was concerned. He called her name and grabbed her head once she faced him. He placed his forehead on hers. She felt a little warm, but not to the point to be too concerned yet. He leaned back to properly look at her face. She still looked sleepy, which was justifiable since she woke up, but he had woken up with her many times to know that this time was different. He thought about what Yukihira said again.

"I wonder if you're getting sick." He finally said. Megumi shook her head, which turned out to be a bad idea for her.

"It's just a headache and I'm tired." She insisted while clutching her head again. "One of them is causing the other. But if it makes you happy, I'll take some medicine."

"Thanks." Isami said, making a mental note to sleep in her bed tonight to watch her.

Again, his decision turned out to be the right one.

He woke up in the middle of the night because he was hot. One curious hand on Megumi's forehead a minute later told him why. He didn't need a thermometer to know that she had finally developed a fever.

"_Luna_, you're definitely sick." He whispered as he caressed her cheek."

"I guess you were right." She mumbled back, pulling the covers closer to her.

"I'll be back." Isami promised as he slid out of bed. He threw on his tank top before going downstairs to the medicine cabinet. He was digging for something to use as a compress when Fumio caught him.

"Thought I heard someone up." The dorm mother said. "Something wrong?"

"Megumi has a fever." Isami explained.

"Hm. She did seem a little off this afternoon." Fumio said. "I'll come up with you to check on her."

Megumi was a shivering ball in the middle of her bed by the time they came back. Fumio had brought the thermometer after all and took Megumi's temperature. She tsked once she saw the numbers on the screen.

"It's a fever, all right. No way you're going to classes tomorrow." She made Megumi sit up and take some more medicine. Once she settled back down, Isami place the compress on her forehead.

"I suggest sleep in your own bed for the rest of the night, boy." Fumio said. Isami gaped at her, too shocked to even ask how she knew. The dorm mother seemed to know what he was thinking, though. "I might be old, but I'm not blind. I can see how close you two have become over the last few months. I can see the looks you guys send each other when you think no one else is looking. Plus, there's no way you could have known about her fever unless you were in the same bed and I see two phones on the nightstand."

"We're caught." Megumi mumbled and Isami could see her face turn a little redder under the lamp light.

"You've done a good job of hiding it." Fumio chuckled. "It would be the talk of the dorm if the others knew."

"Isshiki knows." Isami chimed in.

"Not surprised."

"But we asked him to keep quiet. Other than our parents and you he's the only one who knows."

"Not even your brother?"

Isami shook his head.

Fumio hummed as her eyes shifted to the sick bluenette in bed. "I guess we can pick up this conversation after the both of you get well."

"Both?" Isami questioned. "Megumi's the only one sick."

"You're next, for sure, because of your relationship with her. I give it a day." The elder said with confidence. "Then it's up in the air between your brother and Soma since they're close to you two. Maybe it'll stop after them, since you're the only ones on this floor. Best case scenario is that it stops with you two." Her eyes shifted back to the brunet as she thrusted a water bottle and some medication towards him. "If you feel bad at all tomorrow, I want you to stay home, okay?"

Isami took the offerings and nodded.

"Good. Now let's leave Megumi to rest. Have a good morning." Fumio then left the room. Isami went to gather his phone and charger.

"You're going to get sick." Megumi whined after he kissed her cheek.

"It's too late for me." Isami replied. "So, worry about getting better instead."

Megumi hummed before closing her eyes. Isami took that opportunity to go to his room. Fumio's prediction started to come true later on that morning because he woke up exhausted with a terrible headache. He sure as hell wasn't going to school today, as even sitting up to turn off his alarm was a challenge. He took the medicine that was given to him earlier before he went under his blankets again to sleep.

"Isami?"

The brunet opened his eyes to Takumi standing in front of his bed in his uniform. He probably came up after not seeing Isami downstairs ready to go as well.

"Hey, Nii-chan." Isami mumbled. "I don't think I'm going to school today. Go on without me."

Takumi placed a hand on his twin's forehead. "Oh, no. Not you, too." The blond moaned.

"Hm?"

"Fumio sent a message saying that Megumi got sick overnight."

"Oh." Isami hadn't even bothered to check his messages.

"No wonder you were acting weird yesterday. You were getting sick. I'm sorry for not noticing sooner."

"I was fine yesterday." Isami cut him off. Takumi walked over to his nightstand.

"I see that you took medicine already."

"I went to get them last night."

"You've been sick since last night? You just said you were fine yesterday? Why didn't you tell me?"

"No."

"'No'? No to what? I'm confused."

"Too loud." Isami hissed, covering his head with his blanket. He was not in the mood for any questioning.

"Oops. Sorry." Takumi lowered his voice.

"Please go to class, Nii-chan. I don't need you to get sick as well. He couldn't see his brother's expression, but he could tell by the grunt that Takumi did not fully agree with the idea. "I won't be alone this time, remember?"

"Fine. But I will be back as soon as I can." Isami grunted a reply, not taking the blankets off his head until he heard the door close. He didn't take long to fall back asleep.

* * *

_Isami was in a desert this time._

_How did he get here? Wasn't he in a forest last time? How did he get so far?_

_He vaguely remembered the sun and moon, but when he looked up all he could see were thick clouds. He knew they were there, for he could see in front of him. Not that there was anything to look at. It was just sand and sky. _

_He sunk to his knees. Why was it so cold? Aren't deserts supposed to be hot? It made no sense. Nothing made sense. _

_All he knew now were clouds, cold, and the sand he was sinking into…_

* * *

"Wake up, kid."

"So much sand…"

"Sand? That fever really is talking now, isn't it?"

"Cold…"

"No, don't fall back asleep just yet. You need to drink something. Come on. Good…"

* * *

_He had to move._

_Slowly, he lifted himself up. The sky was still cloudy, the cold still trying to seep into his bones. _

_But he started walking. He had no idea where to go, but he had to keep moving._

* * *

"Has he eaten anything at all?"

"I got him to drink some tea and water, but he hasn't eaten anything but medicine. All he's been doing is sleeping."

"My poor little brother."

"I advise to let him be for now. I don't want you to get sick as well, and it does seem that his fever is starting to go down."

"Okay…"

* * *

_He had reached an oasis._

_Everything was still cloudy and he had no idea how he came to this pool, but he wasn't complaining, It gave his eyes something to look at, and as he got closer he could feel heat coming from the water. _

_He rolled right into the water, clothes and all. Heat immediately wrapped around him. He let out a sigh of relief, letting his body fall further into the warmth…_

* * *

The first thing Isami noticed when he woke up was how dark his room was.

Confused, he sat up, which turned out to be a bad decision because he was suddenly hit with the urgency to pee.

He nearly fell out of bed to get to the bathroom. He met no one in the hall as he went and returned.

When he got back, he went to check the time on his phone. It was past one in the morning. The last thing he had remembered was Takumi coming into his room just before school. Had he slept the whole day and most of the night? He checked all the messages that he had missed. Fumio had sent that Megumi was sick early in the morning, and the next messages consisted of shock and well wishes to her. Then he saw Takumi had sent that Isami had gotten sick as well and even more shock and well wishes came through, this time to the both of them. Fumio had also been kind enough to send updates of their condition every few hours.

_Megumi's fever went up a bit from last night. She's awake and ate a little bit. Isami is asleep and his temperature is okay for now._

_Megumi's fever went down, but it's not down enough. Isami's fever finally hit hard and he's still asleep._

_Megumi's temperature went up again. No change in Isami._

_Megumi's fever went down again. Got her to eat and drink a bit. Isami's high fever steady and I had trouble keeping awake long enough to drink something. He keeps mumbling about sand._

Isami chuckled, embarrassed at the comment. Finally, around ten at night, good news came for both of them.

_Megumi's fever broke. She's now eating a lot more. Isami's has gone down a bit, but he's still asleep._

Megumi sent a message less than an hour later.

_I'm sorry for making everyone worry. _

Of course, she was comforted by the next messages. After that, Fumio sent the latest update from around an hour ago.

_Megumi is now sleeping peacefully. Isami's fever went down more and seemed slightly more accepting of liquids._

Isami suddenly felt very thirsty. He looked towards his nightstand, smiling when he saw a thermos by him. He drained the container of water before typing a message on his phone.

_I live. But I'm going back to sleep. Night._

He woke up to Takumi visiting him, this time in plain clothes and with food. Isami's stomach growled as soon as the smell hit him.

"How are you feeling?" Takumi placed the tray on the nightstand.

"Hungry, mostly." Isami eyed the covered meal. Takumi chuckled before uncovering the dish and pushed the bowl closer to him. "_Pastina_?" Isami asked once he saw the simple pasta soup. "How early were you up?"

"As early as usual for running days." Takumi replied. "Yukihira helped me."

"Oh?" Isami said through the food. It had some chicken and vegetables and he could taste the parmesan cheese. "I'm surprised you allowed him to help you with such a simple meal."

"I told him I was making something to help you and Megumi feel better and he wanted to help." Takumi explained. "I couldn't really say no to that."

"You made some for Megumi as well?"

"Well, she's sick, too. It would be rude to not make some for her." Takumi frowned. "Why do you sound so surprised? I'm not heartless."

Isami smiled around the spoon in his mouth. "I know, Nii-chan. Thank you."

Soon after Isami finished his meal, Takumi kicked him out of bed to go in the shower.

"You were sweating all day yesterday." The older twin said. "You stink because of it." When the brunet came back after a longer-than-usual shower, he noticed that his bed had been changed but his brother was nowhere to be seen. The reason for his sudden disappearance soon showed itself when Takumi appeared again, dressed and ready for school.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Takumi said. "There's an Elite meeting after class and I don't know how long that will take."

"I'll be fine." Isami assured him. "Thank you." After his brother left, Isami decided to go back to sleep for the time being. He woke up when Fumio came to check on him again and instead of going back to sleep he decided to watch movies on his projector. His door opened again, but this time it was a pajama-clad Megumi clutching an overstuffed rabbit in her arms.

"Hey." He smiled as she completely entered the room. "How are you feeling?"

"So much better than yesterday." She replied. "You?"

"Same."

"I'm really sorry." Megumi bowed. "I gave you my cold and worried you."

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. It was bound to happen." Isami assured her.

Megumi hummed before looking up at the ceiling. "You're watching 'Lady and the Tramp'?"

"Yup. You want to join me?" Megumi nodded and climbed into his bed. The brunet reached over to rewind the movie.

"You don't have to do that." Megumi told him but Isami shrugged it off.

"I wasn't that far into the movie. Plus, I'll never get tired of my favorite movie."

"This is your favorite movie?"

"Well, mine and Takumi's." The male chuckled. "I remember we would play this movie for hours and hours for days. Sometimes, our copies would go "missing" for a week or so, but I think one of the adults would hide it just to have a break from it."

Megumi giggled. "I feel so bad for them."

"You should feel bad for us." Isami playfully whined. "Do you know how much we suffered that week? All we had to watch were the hundred or so other movies we owned."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." The bluenette laughed.

"You don't sound like you are."

Isami heard her sigh before she shifted and kissed him. "How about now?" She asked, her amber eyes still shining with laughter.

"Fine, I believe you now."

"Is there a particular reason why you love this movie?" Megumi asked. The movie had already started to play again but Isami ignored it.

"Yup! I was inspired to play the accordion by this movie."

"You play the accordion?" His girlfriend asked in amazement.

"I know I told you that I played an instrument."

"You have, but I don't think you told me specifically which one."

"Well, I'm disappointed in myself for not telling you any of this." Isami frowned. How come he hadn't said anything about this until now?

"It's okay. Part of a relationship is to learn new things about each other." Megumi told him.

"True."

"So, tell me. How did this movie make you want to play the accordion?" She sat up a bit to give him her full attention.

"You know that spaghetti scene?"

"Yes."

"Well, I think I was about five when I first saw the movie. Even though the romantic stuff flew over my head, I fell in love with the music that was playing in the scene. I know I heard the accordion before then, but it was the first time I made the connection that those sounds were coming out of that cool looking instrument." Isami grinned sheepishly. "I do admit I was probably the main reason the movie was taken away a few times because I would play that little part over and over again until Takumi would want to see more of the movie or I was called to do something. Pretty soon, I started to bother my parents to let me have one."

Megumi chuckled and Isami looked up at the ceiling, spotting the perfect opportunity to point something out.

"_That's_ the reason Takumi likes this movie." He gestured at the little black dog in the movie. "He fell in love with Jock and started begging for a dog like him."

"So both of you were asking your parents constantly for your respective things?"

"Pretty much."

"I remember Takumi talking about his dog a few times. I'm guessing he got his wish."

"Yeah, he got his little Scottish Terrier for our seventh birthday. Acts like him, too." Isami mumbled, remembering the feisty and somewhat temperamental dog.

"Did you get yours as well? I mean, accordion?"

"I got enrolled in lessons the year before. My parents wanted to see if I would keep up the effort before anything, which I did. They gave me one for our eighth birthday. I used to bring it with me to Totsuki, but I stopped after my last year in middle school because I heard the high school division was tough."

"Ah." Megumi smiled. "It would have been nice to hear you play it."

"I'll play it for you if you come over for the holidays." Isami promised. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too rusty.

Their attention soon went back to the movie. Megumi had her head on his chest when his favorite part came on the screen. He started to hum softly to it before remembering that he currently had a dozing female on him.

"Please don't stop." She told him quietly. "I like your singing."

Isami blushed but continued his humming, this time watching the smiling bluenette on top of him.

* * *

"So, are you going to give me another hint on where we are going?"

"When did I give the first one?" Isami asked, turning away from the train window to look at his girlfriend.

"Well, when you told me about planning on going out today, you told me to dress for the weather..." Megumi pulled at her oversized beige sweater. "…and to wear comfortable shoes…" She then pointed at her boots. "So, I'm guessing that we are going to be doing a lot of walking outside."

"You're too smart." He chuckled.

"Do I deserve another hint because of my detective work?"

"No, because those weren't supposed to be hints in the first place." He squeezed the hand he was holding when her face fell into a pout. "Patience, _Luna_. You'll see soon enough." Megumi hummed, but didn't press any further. Isami took the moment to stare back out the window, his mind drifting off as he admired the unobstructed morning sunlight.

It was a few days after they had gotten the all-clear from Fumio. The dorm mother had kept them home for two days after their fevers had broken just to be safe and had not been too happy to see Megumi curled around Isami that first day.

"This is why you guys got sick in the first place." She had told them.

She made no effort to separate them, though. Thankfully, no one else had gotten sick in the dorm, which Isami had found just a bit odd. Usually, if he or his brother got sick, the other one would fall ill as well. This time Takumi came out perfectly healthy. After thinking about it and even bringing it up with Takumi, he came to the conclusion that because the blond had not needed to take care of him as much this time he had managed to stay away enough to not catch his cold. Yukihira also escaped Fumio's prediction, despite the amount of time he had spent with Megumi.

Isami had to figure out what to do to thank Fumio for all her time one day.

Speaking of figuring out, all that time in his room by himself gave him an opportunity to think on where to take Megumi for the date. He finally settled on something on the day before he could go back to school. Once he was able to, he told Isshiki about it.

"Do you want me to cover for you when you guys leave?" The senior had offered. Isami told him that he needed to ask Megumi if she was busy before he could answer that question. Luckily, it was a weekend day so they had no school. The bluenette also had no plans and eagerly agreed to the date. Isami then gave the go-ahead to Isshiki to do whatever he wanted to do to cover for him. The story that all three of them eventually came up with was that Isshiki had sent them off to do some task in a neighboring town. It was such a vague reason, but because Isshiki had a reputation of doing mysterious things it would sound normal coming from him.

"What are you going to do about Takumi?" Megumi had asked.

"He's actually the least of my worries this time." Isami said confidently. "Remember, he thinks I have a crush on you and would do anything to further our relationship, including leaving us alone."

Their exit had gone smoothly. They had left for the train station around five thirty in a car, just a bit before the early risers would leave their rooms. They caught their train in time, and as their destination was about an hour away, they were able to snooze on the train. Well, Megumi did. Isami was a bit too nervous to do anything past closing his eyes. Finally, the train stopped at the station that they needed to get off at. The autumn wind hit the both of them as they exited, causing him to pull the strings of his dark hoodie tighter. All his jackets were big on him right now, as he was taking a bit longer than usual to get back to his normal winter weight. Megumi, on the other hand, seemed unaffected by the sudden wind. It wasn't surprising, since she had grown up much further north than he had.

They did a little sightseeing as they made their way to the goal. They paused by a bakery, the smells reminding them that they had not eaten breakfast. It was still early enough to not be starving but it still didn't stop them from enjoying the scents wafting from inside.

"It's closed right now, anyways." Isami gently nudged the bluenette away from the store. "We'll get something at the park."

"Oh, we're going to a park?" Megumi grinned. Isami chuckled.

"That's all you're getting until we get there."

Luckily, it did not take long for them to reach the park. They ended up following a group of people the last few blocks, no doubt going to where he was heading. Once they reached it, Isami held Megumi back.

"Any final guesses?" He asked.

"Hm… Judging by the many pop-up stands, the smell of food in the air, and the crowd, I'm guessing that this is a festival?"

"Yeah. An art one, specifically. From what I read this town likes to hold an art festival for every season and many kinds of artists come here to show and sell their work."

"That sounds cool!" Megumi exclaimed, dispelling whatever worry he had about her not liking it.

"Great." He sighed in relief as he took a guide and some bags from the people handing them out.

The park was huge, Isami soon realized. It was probably the size of the town itself. It was a good thing that it was because there were so many artists. They ran into the original drawings and fanart, where they brought a few things from. There were also a couple of booths ran by sculptors, which had hands-on stations so that they could try to make their own clay things. Isami had opted to make a mug.

"I think I did a good job?" Megumi questioned as she showed her creation to him.

"Nice bowl." He said. It was the wrong answer because her face fell into a pout.

"It's supposed to be a flowerpot."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry. I see how it looks like a bowl."

While their stuff was baking, they explored more of the festival. Even though they had decided to get food after they saw everything, one particular booth made Isami stop.

"Maple Leaf Tempura?" He looked at Megumi quizzically. "Is that common in Japan?"

"I never heard of it, either." Megumi shrugged. They both went closer, and the older vendor gestured to them to try it. She gave them a piece. It was no doubt a maple leaf fried in batter. Isami flipped it around. Were maple leaves edible? He never realized that they were. He bit into it, relishing the crunch between his teeth.

"It's sweet!" Megumi beamed.

"We add sugar to our batter." The woman said.

"It's great." Isami said. "I never would have thought that you could fry up something like this."

"The recipe has been in my family for generations. It's a specialty in our town. I think we're the only ones who do it now in all of Japan."

"No wonder I've never heard of it." Megumi looked back at her boyfriend. "We have to take so back to Totsuki for our friends."

"Oh! You guys are from Totsuki?" The vendor asked. When the teens nodded, she continued. "I heard that school is tough on cooking."

"It is, but it's worth it." Isami told her.

After promising that they would be back before they went home, they continued on, admiring all the pieces and the live talent that was happening. They even took a small break by watching a dance. It was when they finally got to the end of the lines of stalls that Megumi let out a squeal. It was so out of the blue that Isami instinctively braced himself. However, when he saw her run towards a booth that seemed to be selling stuffed objects he relaxed. He walked up to her as she began a conversation with the vendor.

"Did you make these yourself?" He heard Megumi ask.

"I have helpers, but they are all handmade." The young male behind the counter answered. "I run a small business so I'm able to get a few of each design here."

Isami picked up a small stuffed…carrot? Yeah, it was a stuffed carrot with a cute smile on the front of it. He dropped it back in the bin in shock once he saw what Megumi had been drawn to.

It was a giant stuffed knitted acorn with a worried face on it. She held it out to him with both hands.

"Look how cute it is! And it's sooo soft! Feel it!"

"That thing is almost half your size." Isami chuckled as he squished part of it in his hand. Honestly, he thought Megumi felt much softer than this, but he kept the comment to himself for now since they were in front of people. "I'm guessing you want it."

The grin she gave him said it all. Shifting the acorn to an arm she started to dig in the handbag she had brought with her. But Isami was faster.

"How much is it?" He asked the booth keeper, wallet already in hand.

"You didn't have to pay for it." Megumi pouted on their way back to the pottery station. "You already paid for everything else."

"There was no entry fee, so I had enough money to do so. More than enough, actually. Besides, I'm the one taking you out, remember?" Isami replied.

"I'm paying for food, then. And don't you dare try to sneak in a payment." Her eyes flashed in warning, and Isami could swear he felt a dangerous aura start to form around her.

"Okay, I won't interfere."

The couple later found themselves relaxing on the grass in a quiet area of the park, sipping hot tea and eating rice dons and blueberry cobbler. The latter was actually from the bakery that they had passed by earlier, much to their delight.

"I'm having so much fun." Megumi told him between bites of food. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome." Isami leaned on the tree behind him, waiting for a few minutes before he dug into the cobbler. "Honestly, I thought you wouldn't like it or get bored."

"Why?" She asked while eating the last few bites of her rice.

"Because you have been to so many great places and experienced so many things. How does something like a small art festival, or anywhere I can currently take you compare to that?"

Megumi set the bowl down. "I may have been to many foreign places, but at the end of the day I'm still a simple country girl. I'm not insulting myself by saying that. It's just how I was raised. Something like this is refreshing, and I feel so relaxed just sitting here with you enjoying nature and good food." She leaned over and kissed his cheek before settling down to eat her treat. Isami still didn't touch his, for he was far too busy watching Megumi enjoy hers.

And her smile was the best treat he could ever have.


	11. Game 11

A couple of days after their date, Megumi and Isami came home to some news.

They had taken much longer to get home that day, as Megumi stayed to help with her RS with something. Isami had come to pick her up from clubroom at the time it usually ended, as he had a habit of doing so almost every meeting. On those days, Megumi would make sure that she would be done with whatever task she was doing to be able to meet him at the entrance. Today she was helping one of her juniors with a recipe she had acquired from France. Because of that, she did not realize that the time had passed her by until the president called Isami's name. Surprised, she looked up towards the direction of the door and locked eyes with her boyfriend.

Then her president pounced.

Yasuda Teruo was a third year who had been in this RS since he had come here as a first-year middle school student. He had become the president last year and he was trying to recruit as many people as he could into his precious club before he graduated in the spring. Yasuda was really pushing for Isami to join his club, especially since he found out the brunet was not in any other clubs. It didn't help that Isami never gave a clear answer. So, while Megumi was finishing up, Yasuda was giving Isami a rundown on recent club projects.

It also took them longer to get back because they walked instead of biked today. Well, Megumi had not biked today, for she had left her bike at home due to the nice weather and that Isami would walk with her today. Neither him nor his brother had opted for a bike yet, though it wasn't too uncommon at Polar Star. Soma, Shun, and Zenji were the ones with mopeds. Yuki and Ryoko had regular bikes like her. The rest walked unless the weather was bad. Then they opted for a car. They took their time as well, enjoying the weather and a few stolen kisses.

They ended up getting home when the sun was halfway below the horizon. As she had been doing for the past few days, Megumi glanced over to the mail area. A small gasp escaped her when she spotted her mother's familiar handwriting among the few Shokugeki challenges in her spot. A questioning hum came from her boyfriend once he heard her.

"My mother's letter came." She told him as she gathered everything up. Isami nodded, understanding. While they went up the stairs, Megumi looked through the challenges. "I wonder if I should take some of these on. It's been a little bit since I've done a Shokugeki. I probably should ask someone to have a mock challenge with me so I can brush up."

"I'm pretty sure you can get anyone to help you with that." Isami replied.

"Including you?" They had reached the third floor by then, and Megumi paused by her door to look at him. He blinked in surprise at her as if he had not expected her to ask him. He didn't reply right away, and Megumi was thankful for the indistinct voices of Soma and Takumi from one of the rooms for filling the silence between them. Finally, the male sighed.

"I-I think you should ask someone who actually has confidence in their skills. They would give you more of a challenge."

"Oh." Megumi's shoulders sagged at the rejection. She knew that if it wasn't for Shokugeki practice, he would have gladly taken up the offer. Honestly, she thought that there was no difference between cooking for fun and for an actual contest. But she knew Isami thought different. She decided not to push it for now. "Alright." She said in a slightly louder voice than she intended. "I understand."

"I-" Isami started to speak but then the door to Takumi's room opened.

"You're back!" Soma all but ran to the two of them. Takumi followed at a much slower pace. "I have some great news!"

"More shocking than great." Takumi muttered.

"But still great." Soma grinned. "I'm going to Italy with you guys for winter break!"

"_What_?" Megumi and Isami simultaneously said.

"I was invited to spend winter break in Italy with you guys." Soma repeated. His voice was a bit lower this time, but his golden eyes still flashed with excitement.

"Wait." Isami waved his hands in front of him before looking over at his brother. "_You _invited him?"

"_Papa _invited him." Takumi clarified. "This _moron_ barges in my room while I'm on a video call and decided to come over and say hi."

"Well, your dad called me over because he heard you yelling at me to get out." Soma defended himself. "I never knew you talked so much about me that your dad knew who I was by name."

"Th-that's because you're such an annoying idiot that it's impossible not to talk about you!" Takumi huffed.

Megumi, meanwhile, was still in shock. Soma had been invited in almost the exact same way that she had. He was for sure going with them because he had mentioned to her that his dad had planned to be out of the country around that time. She should be happy that Soma was not going to spend the holidays alone. But now, there was a huge problem for her and Isami. A short laugh of disbelief escaped her, causing all three males to pay attention to her.

"Sorry." She apologized. "It's just that..." She trailed off, unable to say much else because she could feel the beginnings of a panic attack. She laughed again, trying to calm her racing mind.

"I think she's surprised because the same thing happened to us." Isami laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder. It was meant to be seen as a friendly gesture, but she knew that he was trying to comfort her.

"Y-yeah." Megumi relaxed a bit under his touch.

"What?" This time only Takumi said the word. Megumi looked up to see shock on the blond's face. Meanwhile, Soma's grin got even wider.

"That's awesome!" The redhead exclaimed.

"How?" Takumi's eyes flickered between his brother and Megumi. "When?"

"It was the day after the festival, the morning of the party." Isami replied, taking his hand off her shoulder.

"That would have been nice to know then." The sigh that escaped Takumi was not displeasure, but of relief. It was so uncharacteristic of the blond that even Megumi could pick up the oddness in her half-frazzled state.

"We didn't want to say anything until we were certain she could go." Isami continued on, bringing her focus back on the conversation. "We sent a letter to her mother asking for permission in case she was needed over the break."

"Right." Megumi remembered the paper that she miraculously not dropped and held them up for the others to see. "I think I got a response today, actually."

"What did it say?" Soma asked.

"I don't know. I'll actually go read it right now. _Privately._" She stressed the last word when she saw her best friend perk up. Thinking that it was a great time to leave the conversation, she dipped her head in farewell and went inside her room.

"Make sure to tell us later!" She heard Soma remind her as she shut the door.

"I will!" She placed the challenges on her dresser before tearing the envelope open on her way to her bed.

Even though Isami had offered to help her with the letter to be sent home, Megumi had decided to write it by herself. It was not because she did not want his help. It was because the general thought of someone being around her while she was writing was a bit nerve-wracking. There was also the fact that she felt that there were some things she wanted to write without Isami around. They weren't bad things, however. She would just feel embarrassed if he were to know of them. She noticed the irony in that. Both of them had bared their bodies to each even before they started dating, but she was embarrassed to share some thoughts about him to him. Her mind was weird.

After Megumi skimmed past the greetings and the news of the town, she slowed down to soak in every word that her mother had wrote. Her mother seemed pleased that she had finally got a boyfriend, but had been surprised that it was not Soma since Megumi had brought him over a couple of times during breaks. Her mother also told the town of the news, and that they had also been shocked that it wasn't him. Megumi had to roll her eyes at that.

She had to admit at the start of her friendship with Soma, she did have a crush on him. He had been the first person in a long time to not tease her and seemed fine with her tagging along on his various expeditions. He had stood up for her when she was about to get expelled, something that she would have never expected anyone to do for her. She found that she admired his confidence, and she ended up finding her own again because of him. He had even outright called her his best friend.

She didn't know exactly when she realized it, but she was fine with being just that: the best friend.

Megumi read the rest of the letter. She had expected her mother to be fine with the idea of her going to a new country with her new boyfriend, but she still couldn't help the grin that threatened to split her face in half when she saw it in writing. Her mother just told her that she needed to bring Isami over next time they visited if things were still going well. She also teased Megumi on the 'gushing' about Isami that she had done in her letter, confirming that she had been right on requesting privacy in reading the letter. Face still a bit red, she finished reading and placed it in the drawer where the rest of her letters were before flopping back on her bed.

Now that she confirmed that she could go to Italy, it was time to properly panic.

She and Isami had figured that Isshiki would find out, about them, as he was the residential roof dweller. Fumio was also a guarantee, as she knew every trick in the book when it came to teenagers. They were hoping on Takumi either figuring out or telling him before the trip. That way they could relax, tell the rest of the family, and come back and stay low again.

Soma, true to form, had been the wild card neither of them had expected.

Her phone chirped with a text message. It was from Isami.

_Safe for me to come over? They went downstairs._

_Yeah. I finished._

Isami slid in her room around a minute later.

"So…" He lay next to her. "What did she say?"

"I can go. But you have come with me the next time I visit home because she wants to meet you."

"Easy enough."

Megumi sighed and turned to face him.

"What are we going to do, Isami?"

"About Yukihira?" He reached over to brush a strand of hair from her face. "Not sure yet. We can't really hide our relationship once we go over there because I know how some people in my family are."

"And even if we could, Soma would be able to tell something is going on. He's already picking up on how close we are." There had been several instances where Soma had casually mentioned the "friendship" between her and Isami. "I feel like if he understood relationships more he would have already known that something more is going on between us."

Isami chuckled. "You never know what to expect with that guy."

"I know that fact pretty well." A weary sigh escaped her. A few silent seconds passed them by before Isami asked her a question.

"How much do you trust Yukihira?"

"A lot." The answer was immediate. "Sometimes, even more than I trust myself."

"Do you trust him enough to keep our secret?"

That answer took a little longer to give. She remembered times before she had even considered Isami as a friend. Before she even considered her dormmates as close friends. She remembered words that had never left her lips before, words that Soma had listened to despite him being a new friend. She remembered how he in turn told her things that never left his lips before. And how neither of them heard those words on the lips of another.

"I do."

"I trust your judgement then, since you've known him longer." Isami gave her his answer.

"And I still trust your judgement on Takumi, if that's still worth saying."

"It is." He scooted closer until he was able to place his head on top of hers. "We can tell them both at the same time, or hope that my brother figures out everything before Yukihira does. I don't even want to think about if he learns after him."

"I hope so, too."

* * *

Megumi found herself travelling with her girlfriends two evenings later.

Alice had insisted on having a last-minute girls' night early today since she heard that Erina's meetings for the afternoon had been cancelled. The idea had been concocted last minute by her, while most of the Elites were still hovering around the office. It allowed Alice to personally give word to her cousin and Hisako. She had also personally invited Megumi and surprisingly Nene to the meet up. Their senior had been extremely hesitant at first, but since she had the extremely persistent Alice after her, she relented. Alice also sent a text to Yuki, Ryoko, and Ikumi to tell them, and all three of them agreed to come along as well. They all had an opportunity to get taken home in order to pack for the overnight trip at a bath and inn that the Nakiris had a permanent room reserved for them at. It was farther than the one around the school, hence the overnight stay.

"I don't know why we couldn't just stay at the baths by the school and go back to the mansion after." Erina huffed.

"Come on, Erina!" Alice bounced in front of her. "Everyone knows that girls' nights are supposed to be done in style! Besides, Ryo would be around and I can't send him away from his own dwellings!"

"There's no point in saying anything…" Erina sighed.

"I think going to a new place to only relax would benefit you." Hisako added. It still surprised Megumi that Erina's secretary had stopped blindly agreeing with her superior. Instead, she would try to find the path that would help Erina the most, sometimes it being one that the headmistress would not like. Hisako was also not seen by Erina's side as frequently as she had been in the past. Sometimes it was because Erina left her in charge of other duties or Hisako was unable to come along to some events. But the third reason, which was becoming more common, was that she was focusing on her goal to be in the Elite Ten. Megumi could not help but to see how similar Hisako was to Isami.

Erina sighed at her secretary's words, but before she could continue complaining, Ryoko asked her about the kind of facilities she had visited before and how they compared to this one. By the time they reached their room, the headmistress seemed in better spirits. It did not take long for them to decide that it was best to go to the baths soon in order to avoid the after-dinner crowd. They were changing in the dressing room when Yuki let out a gasp.

"Megumi!" She exclaimed, causing the rest of their friends to look over in the bluenette's direction with confused expressions.

"Yes?" She asked, equally confused.

"Where did you get that bruise?" Yuki pointed at a spot on her stomach. Megumi's gaze followed her finger and her breath hitched once she saw what Yuki was talking about.

She had come to terms that she had a marking fetish. She thought it was hot to see the hickeys and bites that she and Isami would leave on each other's skins. They would always leave them in areas that were definitely covered by clothes all the time, redoing them in different areas once the old ones faded. If this trip idea would have come up last night, she would have not allowed Isami to leave marks on her this morning before they had to go to class. But that had not happened, and now she was displaying one of them on her stomach for her friends to see.

"O-oh. I guess I did bruise myself after all…" The bruise was in the right position to be played off as an injury from a counter or a table. "I ran into something earlier in the day. I didn't think it would leave a bruise, though." It was a passable lie, as she did have quite the reputation of being a klutz. To her relief, the lie worked. Ryoko huffed and told her to be careful next time and everyone turned back to the task on hand. It was only when the conversations picked back up did Megumi let a sigh escape her.

She could play off the hickey on her stomach.

But she could not play off the other one she knew Isami had left on one of her inner thighs.

She had a private moment to check to see if it was visible. It definitely stood out against her skin, but it was placed in a way that it wasn't noticeable by a glance. She would just have to be a bit more careful until she could put clothes on again.

Much later, Megumi found herself alone with Nene in one of the bath areas. The rest of the girls were room hopping, trying out different kinds of baths that the place had to offer. Her and Nene were invited to come with, but the senior had decided to stay in one spot. Megumi, not wanting to leave her alone, also chose to stay. Guessing that senior was still not completely comfortable around their more energetic companions, Megumi decided to not to bother her too much. Instead, the bluenette stayed silent beside her, lost in her own thoughts.

"You didn't have to stay…" Nene's quiet voice broke through the silence. "I would have been fine alone."

"You were pressured to come along with us." Megumi replied. "I did not want to leave you alone after all that. Besides, it's good to have a break from my loud friends every once in a while."

"Understandable." Nene let out a puff of air. "We seem to attract the loud ones. I especially feel bad for you, since you have Yukihira."

Megumi laughed. "Actually, I think it's half my fault as well. I practically clung on to him the first few months of our freshman year."

"Then I don't feel as bad as I originally did." Nene commented, a small smile on her face. Megumi laughed again as well.

For a few minutes, it seemed like the end of their conversation. Megumi slid further into the bath and looked up in thought. Seeing the time on the clock hanging in the room she saw it was well into the evening. She had been scheduled to cook for dinner today, but this trip had interupted that plan. She wondered who Shun ended up cooking with. How the dorm would be like without the females. For sure Shoji and Daigo would suggest something. Or would they just act like it was a normal Friday evening? She'll ask what they did later.

"Megumi?"

"Hm?" The bluenette looked back at the senior beside her.

"That bruise on your stomach is a hickey, isn't it?"

Megumi stiffened. She thought she had gotten away with that lie in the changing room!

"Judging by your expression and posture, I guess I'm correct. Don't worry. I won't say anything to anyone. I can tell you want to keep that a secret."

"I do." Megumi kept her voice low. "As well as the person who did it."

"Ah." Nene looked away, and Megumi could have sworn that her cheeks got redder. "Sorry. It's just that with a boyfriend like Etsu-…Eizan you tend to start noticing those kinds of things. He likes to sneak them on me sometimes, even though he knows how I feel about them. They make me feel unprofessional."

"I like them." Megumi quietly confessed.

"To each their own." Nene hummed, leaning back on the bath wall and closed her eyes. Megumi watched her for a few seconds, debating on continuing the conversation about their lovers. She ended up picking not to because she may let Isami's name slip in the conversation and she had no idea when the other girls would show up.

Instead, she let herself relax again. Perhaps one day they could pick up the conversation again.

* * *

Sometimes, Megumi had to laugh at the reasons why she would wake up in the middle of the night.

This time, the overall reason that she was up now was because she was hungry. However, she did not want just any old midnight snack that she could find in the cupboard.

Tonight, she specifically wanted homemade cookies. She didn't mind what kind they were, but she wanted to feel the sensation of biting into a soft cookie fresh out of the oven. She had no idea why she wanted that exact treat, but the urge for it was strong enough to make her stomach growl.

However, the will to not move was even greater. Tonight, she was sleeping in Isami's bed, and the room's owner was a light sleeper. They had class later on in the morning, so she really did not want to wake him just because she was hungry. She decided to try to ignore her stomach for at least a few more hours and go back to sleep. Her stomach did not agree with that plan, however. Her eyes flew open as a particular loud growl emitted from it, and she cursed silently when she heard her bedmate mumble something in Italian. She tilted her head just enough to be able to see his face and was not surprised to see his sleepy gaze staring back.

"You heard that?" She asked.

"Mhm." Isami yawned.

"Sorry. It was my stomach." The confession made him chuckle in mid-yawn.

"You mean it wasn't Ibusaki firing up his chainsaw this early?"

"I-it was that loud?" Megumi stuttered. Had anyone else heard it? But Isami started to chuckle again and nuzzled the top of her head.

"I'm kidding." He told her. "How come you didn't get something to eat?"

"I didn't want to wake you but that happened anyways. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'm getting used to waking up in the middle of the night."

"Oh." He didn't say it, but she knew that the reason that he was gaining such a habit was because of her.

"I don't mind it." He added to his words as if he knew her thoughts. He pulled away in order to prop his head on his hand. "What do you feel like eating?"

"…Cookies…" She admitted shyly.

"Any specific kind?"

"Not really. I think I want more of the sensation of biting into a warm and sweet cookie than anything else. Don't laugh at me." She scolded gently as she noticed his lips curl into an amused smirk.

"I understand, _Luna_. I'll make some for you, then." With that, Isami got out of bed and picked up his shirt. Megumi scrambled out of the covers as well.

"W-w-w-wait. You're going to make some for me?" She repeated as he pulled his head through his shirt.

"Yup. You were forgoing getting something to eat in order to not wake me up. It only makes sense to return the favor by making you what you want to eat. Besides, I want to try something." Megumi nodded, not protesting it. Both of them silently made their way out of his room and to the kitchen. She stayed by one of the counters as she watched Isami look in the cabinets and the fridge to see what ingredients he had to work with. "You think you could wait for about an hour?"

"Yup!" Megumi looked at the clock hanging in the kitchen. It was almost two in the morning right now and if everything went smoothly then by three they would be eating whatever Isami planned to make. He started to pull out the ingredients and supplies, her curiosity perking when she saw almonds being set on the counter.

"It would be much easier with the _mezzaluna_," He lamented. "But Yukihira has it tonight…"

"Do you need my help?" She asked.

"I can manage. I want to do this on my own this time." He grabbed a chopping knife and he soon placed the almond pieces in the microwave.

Megumi nodded. Assuming that he did not need the counter space she was by, she jumped up to sit on it in order to watch her boyfriend work.

It had been just over a month since Isami had told her and Takumi about his decision to find his own specialty, and he had been working hard since. Everyone was up to help him in his goal. The afternoons she spent at club were the afternoons that he would stay at the school to learn from their friends who didn't live at Polar Star, which is why he was able to come walk with her more often when she was done. The other days were split between dormmates, Takumi, and her. The only one she had noticed that seemed to hesitate to help him was surprisingly Soma. Well, not too much of a surprise, as he had told her a while ago that he was afraid that the younger Aldini was upset at him. But Isami told her that he had recently sat with the redhead to clear up any misunderstandings, so Megumi might see the two of them together more in the future.

Isami continued to pull and mix ingredients, using both the whisk and the electric beater. Despite the determination and focus creasing his brow, he was softly humming a tune. She could recognize it because it was one that he played often on his phone. She tapped her fingers silently on her leg as she listened to him. A grin appeared on her face when she noticed a bit of the cookie dough had flown onto one of his cheeks and she wondered when he would notice it. The silly smile only stretched more as she saw him fold some blueberries into the mix.

"You're really spoiling me." She chuckled. Blueberries were one of her favorite fruits.

"I'm _pampering _you." Isami corrected. "Which I think is something that I should do regularly." With that, Isami placed some plastic wrap on the top of the bowl and pushed it in the fridge to chill. Setting the timer, he went over to preheat the oven. Megumi saw that he still had that bit of batter on his cheek.

"Isami, come here." She giggled. When he obeyed, she leaned forward and was able to lick it off his face. "You had some batter on your cheek for a while." She replied to his amused smirk. "It tastes nice."

"You should try it when it's cooked." He lifted a hand to her face to reveal a blueberry. "Something to tide you over?" Megumi opened her mouth to allow him to place the berry in it. She smiled in thanks and Isami watched her chew it before he gave her a chaste kiss.

"You taste like blueberry." He stated the obvious.

"No shit." Megumi replied, causing her boyfriend to snicker.

"I'm still not used to you cursing. Except, of course, in bed."

"No so loud." She shushed him. "We don't know who else is awake right now."

"Alright." He pecked her lips again before he sauntered off to get a start on the cleanup. Megumi slid off the counter to help him, volunteering to wash the dishes so that he could be ready to bake the cookies when the timer went down.

"Did I tell you about what happened at the sleepover over the weekend?" She asked while she was wrist-deep in soapy water.

"You only told me about Kinokuni figuring out about my marks. You never finished."

Megumi started to tell him about the events after the bath with Nene. She mentioned how awed she was by the fancy dinner that they ate. She had no idea how much she ate. Then how she had been dragged by most of the girls back to try out the baths she had missed out on, leaving Nene, Erina, and Hisako in the room. She had almost felt like a prune by the time she was finally allowed to go back to the room. She told him how the conversations eventually turned to the topic of shipping.

"It first started with who we shipped in manga and anime that we knew of. Then, Alice, unsurprisingly, decided to turn the conversation to which of our friends belong with who. We had a ball trying to see who Soma could work with."

"Did they pick you as one of the candidates?" Isami asked. The timer had gone off a couple of minutes ago and he was now dropping batter onto the sheet.

"Of course they did." Megumi deadpanned. "One of my favorite reasons was from Yuki, who said we would be perfect for each other because him and I could go a lifetime without sex and not even care."

"That's not true. You're a borderline nymph." Isami said in a low voice.

"Can't help it. My boyfriend's really hot." Feeling her face heat up at the words that came out of her mouth, her golden eyes slid over to watch his reaction. She was satisfied to see his face flush under the artificial lights. Even though Isami gave her and many other people compliments with ease he still had trouble accepting ones towards him.

"Thank you…" He mumbled, suddenly looking very interested in finishing the cookies. He seemed composed by the time he slid the two baking sheets in the oven. "So, did they put _me_ with anyone?" He asked as he set the timer again.

"They did. Ikumi and Erina were the top two contenders."

Isami frowned, clearly confused at that line up. "But why?"

"Because you seem able to put up with Ikumi's aggressive nature and you're one of the only people Erina hasn't gotten mad at yet." Megumi reiterated the reasons that had been given that night. "No one said anything about you and me."

"We truly are the outliers, aren't we?"

Megumi couldn't decide if she was relieved or bothered by that. She should be relieved, as at least the females thought nothing was going on between them and it would help kept their secret hidden a bit longer. However, she couldn't help but to feel just a bit upset at the time when he had been brought up and paired up with someone other than her. The feeling was returning as she thought about the memory. Her now dry hands reached out to grab her boyfriend and wrapped herself around him when he got close enough.

"I don't care what people think." She told him. "You're _mine_."

"Same goes to you, _Luna_." Isami replied, running his fingers through her hair before kissing the top of her head. The possessive feeling didn't leave her, but she felt much better.

The smell of cookies soon brought back Megumi's hunger pangs. She decided to warm up some tea as they finished baking. Soon, the cookies were cooling and the two of them finished cleaning up.

"Blueberry Almond Cookies." The brunet announced as he checked the temperature of one. "You try first." Isami held out the dessert to Megumi, who noticed that it was still warm once she had it in her hand. "Your stomach was starting to growl again." Megumi snorted softly at the observation before taking a bite of the treat.

Immediately, Megumi was transported.

_She was no longer inside the kitchen on an autumn night. She instead was outside in a forest on a summer afternoon collecting blueberries. The gentle wind ruffled her sundress and threatened to blow away her straw hat, but she was grateful for the breeze because it kept her cool under the sun. She felt the bumps of the soil and rocks under her bare feet as she walked from bush to bush, but it didn't hurt her at all. _

_There was a berry that stood out to her on one of the bushes. Unable to resist it, she kneeled to pluck the tantalizing fruit. She didn't want to place it in her basket at all. Instead, she popped it in her mouth, savoring the juices that came from it. As she chewed her ears picked up the sounds of birds singing, a river rushing somewhere, the trees above her creaking, and various other sounds. But instead of a cacophony of the different sounds, she heard all of them come together as a single and gentle song. She closed her eyes to listen to the almost ethereal harmony…_

And then Megumi came back. The first thing she saw was cerulean eyes staring at her in anticipation and concern. The second thing she noticed was that her hand was empty now.

"How was it?" Isami asked.

"Delicious." She replied. "You should eat some as well." She motioned over to the treats now on a plate. The bluenette noticed that he hesitated to do just that, knowing the reason why he had reservations about his own cooking. Isami did pick one up and bit into it. He pulled it away from his mouth, surprise etched on his face as he kept chewing. "Something wrong?" She wondered what could have made him have such a strong reaction.

"It tastes…" Isami took a moment to swallow. "…different."

"Good or bad?"

"…I don't know yet." He finished up the treat.

They stayed in the kitchen for another half hour or so, munching on the cookies and sipping the tea that Megumi had made until sleep started to creep up on the both of them. Seeing that there weren't enough cookies to share with the rest of the dorm, Isami told her to take them bag to her room as he had originally made them for her. They also decided to sleep in their own rooms for the rest of the night because there was a chance that they might have a bit of trouble waking up for class in the next few hours. Somehow, they ended up waking up on time, but Takumi noticed that Isami was a bit sluggish on their way to school.

Later on in the afternoon, Megumi was in the Elite Ten office munching on the cookies from last night when Takumi came in with Soma right behind him.

"No Isami?" She asked when she didn't see the brunet around them.

"No. He went home." Takumi told her. "I could feel that he was tired, so I sent him home to relax despite his protests. I wonder if he's sick again."

"He's not." Megumi assured him. But before she could explain why, Soma came up to her desk.

"Those look good!" The redhead nodded at the bag of treats.

"Try some." Megumi encouraged. Soma grinned and grabbed a couple of them. He bit into one and pushed the other one towards the blond's face. Megumi thought it was cute how Takumi took the cookie with his mouth before using his hand to hold it. Hums of satisfaction came from the males as they ate the dessert.

"Isami made these, right?" Takumi deduced after he finished his.

"Yes." Megumi replied, shocked at the accurate guess. "We were up around three in the morning making them."

"How did you guess that?" Soma asked, sounding equally impressed at the feat.

"His food always has some musical element infused with it." The blond answered like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Which makes me wonder why he's so insistent on trying to find his own thing. The music he somehow adds to his dishes is already unique enough."

"I never knew that was his doing." Soma admitted. "Almost all the dishes that I've tasted by him were when he was working with you or someone else. Mostly with you."

"And that's exactly what he's trying to avoid." Megumi stared straight at Takumi; a bit upset that he did not understand his twin's goals. "He's trying to make his own path. He wants to be recognized as his own person, not as a teammate."

"I know that!" The blond snapped, causing both of his companions to jolt back from him. He covered his mouth briefly before apologizing.

"Is everything alright, Takumi?" Soma creased his brow in concern.

"Yes. Everything's fine." Takumi sighed before he turned around. "I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be back." Once the blond left the office Soma turned back to his best friend.

"Something's definitely up." Soma practically whined. "He didn't even ask me for a rematch today." Megumi lifted an eyebrow at that fact. Rarely a day went by without the duo having at least one match between them. "He's been like this since the day his father invited me for the break. Is he really that upset that I'm coming along? Should I say I can't go after all so that he would feel better?"

"Soma, breathe." She reached over her desk to grab his hand that was resting on the desk to comfort him. Is this how he felt when she would go into panic mode all those months ago? "I'm sure whatever is bothering him is not because of your invitation. We would have heard him pitch a fit the very same day if it were."

Soma suspired. "Yeah. You're right." He slipped out of her grasp and jumped over her desk to give her a hug. "Thanks, Megumi." His voice was muffled by her shoulder.

"You're welcome."

Soma was sitting at his desk by the time Takumi came back in. Megumi noticed that the redhead greeted him, but his tone still lacked the carefreeness that it usually had. Takumi greeted him and her back with another apology, which they both told him it was fine. A few minutes of only computer keys clacking and paper shuffling passed before Takumi spoke up again.

"Hey, Megumi?"

The bluenette raised her head to indicate that she was listening.

"How come you and Isami were up at three in the morning making cookies?"

"We both couldn't sleep and were craving a snack. But it was all him doing the cooking. I just watched and cleaned."

"Hm. Was he already up or did he run into you in the kitchen?"

"He ran into me." Megumi replied. "I was up before him, I guess." The second part was true. She had been up before him.

"Alright." Takumi looked away and went back to his job, seemingly ending the conversation. However, Megumi didn't do the same. Instead, she pulled out her phone to text Isami what she had told Takumi in case he was asked about it. Once she sent the message, she glanced back at the blond. Soma was right; something was definitely up.

She just hoped that whatever it was came down without too much trouble.


End file.
